Lincoln 's Rights Of Slavery

As Bennett states in his article, Lincoln was opposed to the extension of slavery not out of compassion for suffering black people, but out of devotion to the interests of white people. In his Charlston speech, Lincoln stated, “I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black race, . . . I will say there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.” The speech itself shows that Lincoln was opposed to every aspect of the Emancipation Proclamation that he himself issued. Not only that, but Lincoln felt pressured to issue the Emancipation Proclamation by Radical Republicans who were pushing for it to be passed. Furthermore, if Lincoln had not issued the Proclamation, the congress would have done it. Lincoln did not want to give up his power as a president, and signed the document himself. In response to the proclamation, Bennett writes, Lincoln “freed” slaves where he had no power and left them in chains where he had power (page 137). In Lincoln and Colonization, by Richard Blackett, a historian of the abolition movement, The pressures of war forced his hand. As a result, the proclamation contained so many restrictions that observers questioned its effectiveness (page 20).

First, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t a fan of slavery. He thought that slavery should be abolished. According to document 5 it says “Abraham Lincoln, who had declared “Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free…”. Lincoln also thought that it should be “Free Speech, Free Homes, and Free Territory”. He thought that blacks should have the right to talk in public and blacks should own their own homes and property. Lincoln wanted all blacks to be free and didn't want racism.

On the other hand, Lincoln thought that while there has been no slavery desirable, he felt should not think that extends to several other new districts, and this should avoid legally. And this should be avoided in a legal manner, with tenacity he had found the solution for this, however, was the right to property enshrined in the U.S. Constitution Even so, the war powers of the President Lincoln, he made a call to get an emancipation during the civil war, in order to enable it to seize the properties of hard workers in order to free them from the legal means

Abraham Lincoln started all that before he was in office, so imagine what he did when he became president of the United States. When Lincoln was elected there was a long series of policy clashes between the South and the North. The clash wasn’t just about slavery. It was a clash of elites. The Northern elite wanted economic expansion. Such as, free land; free labor, free market, and much more. Lincoln had all of this in mind, even the slaves. The slaves saw Lincoln as their ticket to freedom. The South was for slavery, so when they notice Lincoln was trying to abolish slavery they started to secede from the union. Lincoln tried to get some of the states back and more seceded. The confederacy was formed; the civil war was on.

Early on in Lincoln’s political career he “expressed his devotion to the cause of protectionist tariffs, taxpayer subsidies for railroads and other corporations, and the nationalization of the money supply” (2). According to Lincoln, “the constitution stood in the way of his political ambitions” (3). If you cannot already tell, Lincoln seemed maybe he did not really care for the constitution or people like he said he did. He did not care to have equality between the races and wanted to put all the blacks in one place besides the United States. We should all be treated equally but Lincoln did not feel this way. Lincoln’s primary agenda for a Civil War was not to end slavery but to save the Union (8).

Although Abraham Lincoln wanted to free African American slaves and thought slavery was wrong he did not believe they should have the same social and political rights. The mid 1800s was a time that separated the black and white race immensely. The northern states and the southern states of the United States was divided on the issues of slavery among other reasons which led to the civil war. The civil war was the beginning of struggling African American slaves journey to freedom with the help of Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery in the northern states never reached the severity in most plantations that it did in the South, and it was common knowledge that being a slave in the South was, in a way, more harsh than the North, leading to a much larger number of slaves being held captive in southern states. Many people in the southern states used biblical passages to justify slavery and said that if slavery was abolished there would be unquestionable chaos and unemployment. Despite all of the people that did not think that slavery was wrong, one man stood and took the blunt of the judgement by the people named Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln viewed slavery as wrong, but knew that the nation’s founding fathers struggled with how to address the issue of slavery. There were several ideas on how abolish slavery during the 1800s, including colonization and the Emancipation Proclamation, but these ideas were not introduced into law because the general public

“Lincoln vehemently opposed the expansion of slavery into new western territories and served as one of the most influential advocates of ‘free soil’” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Although Lincoln stayed neutral on the topic of the abolitionist movement during his campaign, he was against the expansion of slavery. Because of this, the South saw him as a threat and seven southern states seceded from the Union.

Lincoln served as a great president who took on challenges head on. The biggest issue he faced was the Civil War. The Civil War was a conflict about slavery and expanding it. Lincoln’s goal was to gradually put an end to slavery however, the South did not agree with this and decided to (according to the government) rebel against the country. Doing this meant the beginning of a war where a country would fight itself. It was the North against the South. While the North was abiding to the government’s regulations they had to fight the South. After all the battles of fighting each other the Civil War went down into American History as one of their bloodiest wars. As a threat to the South Lincoln ordered the South to give in and join the Union again. He warned them that if this did not happen, he would free the slaves under their custody. He gave them a time limit for this but the South did not listen nor did they give in. As a result, Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation.

Lincoln has different to eliminate slavery but that would be impossible. He also speaks about the education slaves had perspectives on slavery. He expresses his feelings and views on slavery in every speech he gives but in each speech he has different points of view. On some of the speeches he talks about how fast he wants in the southern states and how men preferred to have slaves instead of common men. He also talks of how they worked and were treated horribly. But then his opinions were also indecisive, he wants to satisfy the majority of states by stating his opinions in a way that satisfies the ideas pertain to slavery just to gain political power over his presidential election.

Yes, he believed that slavery was morally not right, but he did not consider himself an abolitionist. His main focus from the start was to restore the Union through Reconstruction, and his first plan to put into action was called the Ten-Percent Plan. The purpose of this plan was to "specify that a Southern state could be readmitted into the Union once ten percent of its voters swore an oath of allegiance to the Union."¹ Lincoln was very lenient with the South since he believed that they never actually seceded legally, so this plan was more about a quickly forgive and forget, except Confederate leaders and government officials were not pardoned due to their intentional participation and causes of the war. He envisioned that once the Union reunited, things would run more smoothly as it did before the civil war, and the South would vote and establish new state governments. However, Lincoln's vision for Reconstruction did not satisfy Congress since they often debated about the plan due to the dominated seating of Radicals. One of the disputes was the Wade-Davis Bill that Lincoln refused to sign. The bill required that "each state abolish slavery, repudiate their acts of secession, and refuse to honor wartime debts. It also stipulates that a majority, rather than 10 percent, of voters in 1860 take an

Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery was the belief that the expansion of it to Free states and new territories should be ceased and that it eventually be abolished completely throughout the country. He believed simply that

As a Republican President, Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery. He believed it was unnecessary to everyone-including Negros and Whites. However, with his stand on slavery, he held back by declaring that he had no reason to disrupt slavery where it existed. The constitution had protected states where citizens wanted slavery to exist. Lincoln knew he would not get enough support and that the four slave-holding states in the North would turn against him. As a result, the Civil War began in 1861 with more of a political purpose in keeping the union together rather than a battle for human freedom. Slaveholders could not turn to the Union’s side because slaves were valuable and played a vital role to

     What did Abraham Lincoln do and think regarding slavery during the Civil War? In Abraham's First Inaugural Address he states "I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."" (Pg 53-54) Lincoln did not want the South to be afraid of his Republican Presidency either. That was why he made these statements at his Inauguration about slavery. Lincoln also talks about leaving the returning of fugitive slave clause alone, and keeping it in the Constitution. He

Lincoln understood that bondage of the African race was inherently wrong, "a vast moral evil," one that he could not help but hate, but that it was indeed protected by the Constitution and in several national and state laws. In fact, Lincoln held no ethnic prejudices. Before the Civil War commenced, Lincoln was a strong advocate of the colonization of the blacks back in Africa after they were freed, not because he himself was racist, but because he was afraid that the white Americans were simply too discriminate to live peacefully along blacks. In the creating of the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln was careful to ensure that the four slave states that had stayed in the Union – Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri – would not be offended and so join the Confederacy. Instead, he freed slaves only in the states that had rebelled, which

Lincoln believed that he had “no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists.” Lincoln continues and says, “I believe that I have not lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so” (Majewaki, pg. 70). Lincoln was a humble politician. He in no way wanted to endanger the unity of the nation.