BLOG 2: Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln definitely differs on certain philosophical ideas with Henry David Thoreau. Lincoln is basically as far in the government as someone can go, and Thoreau is saying things against the government. Thoreau even goes to jail for not paying a poll tax, making a statement against voting, and Lincoln is only in the position that he is in because of voting. It is possible that Lincoln could side with Thoreau even if Lincoln is the president. Thoreau believed that voting did not mean anything without the backing of someone with morality to execute that which was voted on (Thoreau). Lincoln does not really say directly if he believes this, but he is, in many cases, the one who is supposed to execute the thing that was voted on. On the issue of slavery, Lincoln was changing with time. He started off politically without any real opposition to black servitude, but, well into the Civil War, he finally changed his beliefs to being against slavery but having a more gradual reformation plan (Divine). He even says in his second inaugural address that slavery was destroying the Union, but he never would have said this in his first address (Inaugural). Thoreau’s idea was more about immediate emancipation, and he demonstrates his fervor by helping escaped slaves (Wayne).

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Lincoln also had clear differences. Emerson wrote a whole essay on being self-reliant, and Lincoln is in a position where everyone is reliant on him. Although Lincoln was a Republican, this was a much different Republican party that is really unrecognizable to today’s party. The main issue that defined them in the nineteenth century was slavery, and that is irrelevant today. Lincoln even enforced more government power and intervention, and, during the Civil War, he suspended the basic right of habeas corpus (Divine). Lincoln’s focus was more that people should strive to be self reliant, but that this would require government assistance until everybody, black or white, could live off their own means. That really is not too realistic in a time where slavery does still exist. Emerson had a lot of good ideas on self reliance. He said that “to be great is to be misunderstood” (Brugman). He also said that a strong individual was pertinent for a strong society, but a strong society will crush the individual who stands out as different (Brugman). It is contradictory and ironic, but there is a lot of truth to it. A good example is how Galileo claimed that the earth was heliocentric in his time. He was deemed a heretic even though he was right, and rejecting Galileo’s idea was keeping society regressed. Galileo is the strong individual in this case, and the strong society is preventing him, therefore preventing their own strength.

Brugman, Patricia. "Individual and Society in 'Self-Reliance'." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=ETL0377&SingleRecord=True(accessed January 30, 2012).

Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, H. W. Brands, and Ariela J. Gross. America Past and Present AP Edition. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.

Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1989; Bartleby.com, 2001. www.bartleby.com/124/.

Thoreau, Henry David. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.

Wayne, Tiffany K., ed. "Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson." Critical Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=CCRWE0243&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 31, 2012)