Reflection Essay on Did The Nation Achieve The Goals That Douglass and Lincoln Desired

Through the decade's racism and equality has always been something the nation has fought for and against. Lincoln and Douglass both were accomplices in this topic, all they wanted for the nation was to come together and reunite. But did the nation meet these goals? police brutality has become a huge topic when it comes to racism and equality. But this is only one of many topics that are being discussed, African Americans still get profiled for their race, the KKK still exists, and slavery still very much exists in third world countries. The US is still as segregated as before, it is just hidden now, and not enough attention is brought to it. The nation did not achieve the goals of Fredrick or Lincoln. To this day the nation continues to struggle with racism and it is still a constant battle to create equality in the US, so the nation did not achieve its goals.

Douglass and his fight for equality and against racism. when Douglass escaped slavery, he continued to promote freedom in multiple ways. Douglass published a newspaper in New York called “The North Star” Douglass goal for doing to making this was to explain “slaves escaping at night followed the North Star in the sky to freedom (America's story)”. But Douglass's main goal was to "abolish slavery in all its forms and aspects, promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the COLORED PEOPLE, and hasten the day of FREEDOM to the Three Million of our enslaved fellow countrymen. (America's story)”. Douglass was a very successful leader in abolition movements and became very well known for the things he did. But he was still subject to laws keeping black and whites separate. Douglass use to speak to inspire crowds, his very first speech was in 1841. He continued to speak in large crowds to speak out against slavery. “His very first public speech was in 1841 at the church of the Rev. Thomas James, who asked Douglass to speak about his experiences as a slave. (Americas Story)”. Douglass went on to write a narrative called Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, in this narrative, Douglass said “Thus is slavery the enemy of both the slave and the slaveholder.” meaning slavery was no good for the slaveholder or slaves. Douglass's main goal was to give freedom to all the slaves being held, he not only wanted that but to feel at peace with the nation. He left the work up to the nation, not only did the nation fail him, but the nation failed Lincoln as well.

Lincoln and his fight for freedom was a different story than Douglass’s. when Lincoln became president, he faced many challenges of slavery and possible civil war. Lincoln drew a line between slavery and political rights. Lincoln strongly believed “Lincoln strongly believed slavery was a great evil.” (civics renewal foundation). “Lincoln also supported the idea of providing government aid to the freed slaves, enabling them to establish colonies abroad. Lincoln thought that in their black nations, they would finally enjoy equal political and civil rights.” (Civics Renewal Foundation). Lincoln did not so ever support slavery, nor the things slave owners did to them, but to Lincoln, he cared more about the Political party and what happened with that. He did not join Northern abolitionists he would rather emancipate slaves gradually and get funds from their owners. But this did not change his viewpoint on slavery and his desire to reunite the nation. Lincoln made a compromise with Missouri that “prohibited slavery in any future territories carved out of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase.” (Civics Renewal Foundation). This caused outrage everywhere and Lincoln became stuck In between “slavery in the United States would eventually have to end everywhere or become legal everywhere for the nation to survive.” (Civics Renewal Foundation). Lincoln made many speeches and addresses towards the nation to reunite them. Lincoln continued to fight to bring the nation together. The biggest thing he did was support the 13th amendment which abolished slavery. Lincoln wanted “ to preserve the Union, and to stay out of most affairs regarding slavery.” (civic renewal foundation). Lincoln did his best to preserve the union and fix it during his time of presidency. Not only did he abolish slavery, but he also tried to preserve the union. He left his words that he wanted the union to reunite and stay out of anything regarding slavery. Lincoln and Douglass not only made their mark, but they made their territory.

Racism and equality present day. As time went on racism lightened up and slavery went away. Just when the nation had hope things took a turn for the worse. Although slavery was abolished this created a whole new world of problems between segregation. Segregation in schools, public places, every possible place you could think. “As the 19th century came to an end and segregation took ever stronger hold” (history). segregation continued In the nation until 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which legally ended the segregation that had been institutionalized by Jim Crow laws. Then came the KKK (which was originally founded in 1865) had come to an explosion population of people in the group. The KKK became “a vehicle for white southern resistance” (history). This became a problem, and they committed many hatred crimes. Along with this came police brutality. A very known topic in the present day. Police brutality has not lightened up at all through the years. Scientists have found “white officers were more likely to use a gun than were black officers more likely to do so in black neighborhoods” (nature). Police brutality has come to an all-time high, and the article states “I have become convinced that we do not have a racial problem in policing…rather, we have a race problem in society that is reflecting policing.” (nature). Racism and equality have not come to a stop throughout the years. It is almost as if the nation is going back in time. Society reflects the way society thinks, and racism has only gotten worse. The union has not been reunited and racism is not going to stop unless we make a change.

The nation Is still struggling with the issues we faced in the past, and it is only becoming a challenge we must overcome. The nation did not achieve any goals or desires that Lincoln and Douglass had for the future of the nation. The nation still struggles as a group to deal with these issues and still faces challenges. So, no, the nation did not achieve anything besides proving that we cannot excel and grow from anything. This is important because the nation must become a better place for everyone to be comfortable and happy. If the nation continues this way, there will be a horrible collapse in society. The nation needs to apply these goals to their selves and let things change for the better.