At the time of the Civil War, everyone knew who Frederick Douglass was. It was almost impossible not to be aware of the unusual friendship he shared with Abraham Lincoln. Their friendship was probably the most important one developed during the Civil War conflict; it changed the course of the nation. They were both very headstrong and needed each other to advance their own agendas. Yet they were two men quite different from their times. Douglass was more of a radical abolitionist, which meant he wanted to end slavery immediately. Lincoln, on the other hand, believed that slavery should gradually end, not immediately, but over at least 100 years. Their differences made Douglass's opinion of Lincoln less valued and there was not much respect in the friendship. So what really made Frederick Douglass say his famous quote about Lincoln, despite his partial hatred of him before the Civil War? As he himself was a slave in his early years, Frederick Douglass was strongly opposed to slavery. Growing up in slavery, he had no choice. But he won his right to freedom by fleeing to the North. When he grew up and entered the controversial world of politics, he met Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln shared the same views on slavery as Douglass. According to him, Lincoln also did not want slavery to exist. But Lincoln was white; unlike Douglass, the lingering issue of slavery did not hit him as hard as Douglass. Frederick Douglass knew what slavery was like, he lived it. He therefore despised the fact that Lincoln chose to unite the Union rather than immediately end slavery. Lincoln's act was clear; many critics called him a tyrant and it was middle of paper... After the Civil War, Frederick Douglass continued to have a high opinion of Lincoln and his great speech. It was hard to believe that before the Civil War, the two men were at odds and arguing over the greatest and most horrible sin committed, slavery. But they found a way to form a friendship that will last throughout the story. It was his famous quote that really caught the eye. He said of the sixteenth president: “His greatest mission was to accomplish two things: first, to save his country from dismemberment and ruin; and, secondly, to free his country from the great crime of slavery. . . . taking it for all, measuring the enormous magnitude of the work that awaits it, considering the means necessary to achieve the ends and examining the end from the beginning, infinite wisdom has rarely sent into the world a man better suited to its mission than 'Abraham Lincoln..”