Journal 8

Lincoln vs. Davis

             The American Civil War was between two factions of the country, the North, and the South. The leaders of which can be considered a representation of the ideals of their region. Abraham Lincoln for the North, or the Union, and Jefferson Davis for the South, or the Confederacy. They can be thought of a two sides of the coin of the Civil War. Both born in Kentucky these two men actually had a lot in common, but they ended up in direct opposition of one another. 

           In his inaugural address Jefferson Davis said, "our present position has been achieved in a manner unprecedented in the history of nations. It illustrates the American idea that government rests upon the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to abolish a government whenever it becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established" (1360). He is claiming that the Southern states not only had the right to secede from the union, but that it was necessary for them to do so since the government had become, "destructive of the ends for which it was established." Davis is paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence, and this is representative of the feelings of many southerner's, they felt that the federal government was trying to restrict their rights, and compared their struggle to that of the American Revolution. Lincoln and the North had different ideas.

          In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln said, "this nation, under god, shall have a new birth of freedom-- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" (1373). This is the exact opposite of what Davis said, Lincoln is claiming that we must protect our government, our country. At this time the government of the United States was unique, not only the first democracy of its kind, but the only.