{"id":3325,"date":"2017-11-27T09:04:51","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T15:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/?p=3325"},"modified":"2017-11-27T09:04:51","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T15:04:51","slug":"lincoln-and-stephens-a-nation-divided","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/lincoln-and-stephens-a-nation-divided\/","title":{"rendered":"Lincoln and Stephens: A Nation Divided"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States in the late 1850\u2019s and early 1860\u2019s was marked with political unrest and a nation divided on one specific topic: slavery. During this time, Congress passed several resolutions in an attempt to pacify both the North and the South. In his speech \u201cA House Divided,\u201d Lincoln refers specifically to the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, which would allow the residents of those states to decide whether they would be a free state or a slave state. This bill, like many others of its kind, ultimately failed. In 1861 the nation would see the consequences of divided politics in the form of a civil war. Politicians Abraham Lincoln and Alexander Stephens would both give speeches, \u201cA House Divided\u201d and \u201cCorner Stone Speech,\u201d respectively, that would address the problems of slavery and states\u2019 rights. These pieces are unique because they mark the beginning of a period in which speeches are widely distributed as American literature.<\/p>\n

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Artist: Alexander Gardner Title: Abraham Lincoln, the Sixteenth President of the United States Date: 8 November 1863 Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lincoln\u2019s speech, delivered three years before the Civil War, was meant to target the American population, explaining that the North and the South must put their differences aside to preserve the nation.In \u201cA House Divided,\u201d he utilizes logos to appeal to the logic and rationality of his audience. For example, while Lincoln remarks that the nation must choose to either be entirely free or allow slavery everywhere, the logic in his argument indicates the entire nation cannot revert back to slavery and that it would be far simpler for the South to abandon slavery. Motivated to keep the nation united, he implores anyone who doubts the effectiveness of his policy to \u201ccarefully contemplate that now almost complete legal combination\u2026 compounded of the Nebraska Doctrine, and the Dred Scott decision\u201d (732). The two contradictory documents showcase the unsuccessful attempts to implement two radically different policies across one nation.<\/p>\n

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Artist: Unknown Title: Alexander Stephens Date: c. 1855 Source <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alternatively, Stephens\u2019 speech, which was delivered only a few weeks before the onset of the Civil War, uses more emotion to appeal to his audience.While he also is directing his speech at the entire nation, or in this case both the Union and the Confederacy, he attempts to appeal to the pathos of his audience by declaring that the rights of the states in the Confederacy have been impeded by an overreaching federal government. Stephens claims that \u201c[the Confederacy\u2019s] foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man.\u201d In saying this, he draws upon the American tradition and institution of slavery as not only a way of life, but also asserts as fact that it is a birth right. Stephens\u2019 motive behind the \u201cCorner Stone Speech\u201d lies in his desire for the Confederacy to become an independent nation. To accomplish this, he ostracizes those that disagree with him, claiming that they are fanatics prone to insanity.<\/p>\n

The two speeches serve as a juxtaposition of political thought in the mid-to-late 1800\u2019s. \u201cA House Divided\u201d focuses on the need to reunite the country through a single public policy regarding slavery. In it, Lincoln logically insists that a nation cannot stand together if neighboring states live by radically different laws. However, in the \u201cCorner Stone Speech\u201d Stephens asserts that the states in the Confederacy have both a right and an obligation to govern themselves. He furthers his argument by adamantly inserting the notion that the African people are inherently inferior to white men and that the Union\u2019s sentiments on the topic of equality of men are fundamentally wrong. America\u2019s inability to reconcile these two ideas eventually led to the American Civil War in 1861.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n

Lincoln. \u201cA House Divided.\u201d The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume <\/em><\/p>\n

B: 1820-1865<\/em>, edited by Julia Reidhead, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012,<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 732-738.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Stephens, Alexander. \u201cCorner Stone Speech.\u201d Teaching American History,\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

    teachingamericanhistory.org\/library\/document\/cornerstone-speech\/.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The United States in the late 1850\u2019s and early 1860\u2019s was marked with political unrest and a nation divided on one specific topic: slavery. During this time, Congress passed several resolutions in an attempt to pacify both the North and the South. In his speech \u201cA House Divided,\u201d Lincoln refers specifically to the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, … Continue reading Lincoln and Stephens: A Nation Divided<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[224,237],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3325"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3325"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3368,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3325\/revisions\/3368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}