What were the key differences in the anti-slavery strategies of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass?
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass both hated slavery, but they each took a profoundly different road to ensure its eradication. The divergence in their paths highlights how allies fighting for the same cause have historically disagreed. This raises questions about how people working towards the same end can differ so fundamentally in their approach to it. How can one determine which is the best way to move the nation closer to the ideal of freedom? This website, which serves as an undergraduate model for the Knowledge for Freedom Seminar’s web-based portfolio, seeks to explore this question through close reading reflections on works that address the topics of freedom and equality from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries as well as an essay that examines how Lincoln and Douglass differed in their approaches to the Civil War and abolition. It also features blog posts about places and activities on Dickinson’s campus that relate to the college’s history. This website provides insight into the difficulties of organizing the fight for an important cause and the significance of recognizing that there can be multiple viable strategies. One thing made clear, both then and now, is that the most arduous battles are often between those on the same side.
