Pelosi: Clinton Did Face Sexism
By Austin Bogues
New York Times
june 24, 2008
One of the largest controversies between Lincoln and Douglas regarded the issues on slavery.
“I am impliedly, if not expressly, pledged to a belief in the right and duty of Congress to prohibit slavery in all the United Sates Territories.” Said Lincoln who was accused of being an extremist because he did not want the expansion of slavery to increase.
Douglas believed that slavery was a right that White people had. He wanted to expand it through multiple states, when Lincoln wanted to help put an end to it.
“I will vote for the admission of just such a State as by the form of their Constitution the people show they want; if they want slavery, they shall have it; if they prohibit slavery it shall be prohibited.” Said Douglas during the second famous debate in Freeport Illinois.
In 1858, Douglas was the most powerful politician in the Democratic Party for his great leadership and speaking skills. Lincoln on the other hand was a great leader and speaker but “he was the nominee of a new party, the Republicans, who lacked both visibility and cash.” But his passion for opposing the spread of slavery and his belief that “all men are created equal” helped him win.
With such a controversial generation everything is changing with our country and government. We had a women run for president which has never been so close to happening, we have an African American running for president, and we have a women running for vice president which has only happened once before. My first thoughts of the presidential and vice presidential debates were that they were going to be intense. The reason for that is because there still a lot of people in America who are still prejudiced and not looking forward to change. There were a lot of opinions, viewpoints, and judgments that clashed head on as the presidential and vice presidential debates raged on.
Those had to do a lot with racism or sexism regarding the candidates. Many still do not like the idea that we have a black male running for president, while others do not think its fit for a woman to try and run for either president or vice president.
When Mrs. Hilary Clinton tried to run for president sexism was a stumbling block.
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today that she believed sexism against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was a factor in the 2008 Democratic primary fight, but added that the Democratic presidential candidate also benefited from being a woman.”
Just because people did not support her because she was a woman does not mean that she wasn’t qualified for the job. I personally believed that with her prior experience by having her husband being a president was going to help her excel more than any other. Now we won’t get the chance to see that unless she tries to run again next time.
“I think on the positive side Senator Clinton has advanced the cause of women in government and her candidacy has been a very positive tonic for the country and had a very wholesome effect on the political process.”
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My Article
Lincoln and Douglas Debate
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