Midterm: Slavery and Correct Answer

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.

This clearly shows that Lincoln was not out for the Negro but just to preserve the union. He says in many other debates that he thought the Negro had a physical difference from the white man as well as an intellectual difference (Lincoln-Douglas, n. pag.). Lincoln was considered by many in the south to be a bigot, a white supremacist who wanted segregation and opposed civil and political rights for blacks (Oates 21). Stephen B. Oates talks of many of the theories in his book, like that many southerners concluded that Lincoln was with them in the matters of race (22). Many of these examples show that Lincoln was a hypocrite of some sorts. He would appeal to the southerners by making statements that led them to believe that he was against the Negro. Yet he was writing the emancipation proclamation that was supposed to free all of the slaves. This also is debatable that the proclamation freed any slaves at all. The emancipation proclamation is looked at by some as one of the most far-reaching pronouncements ever issued in the United States (Oates 25). Also it is said that the proclamation freed few if any bondsman (Oates 26).

During the time of Reconstruction, which was from 1865-1877, president Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass had many goals that they wanted to achieve during the Reconstruction period. They shared a common goal of trying to abolish slavery, however, Douglass and Lincoln did have different goals as well that they believed were priorities. Douglass’s goal was to have equality and equal rights among the races and Lincoln’s main goal was to unify the Union after the destruction caused by the Civil War. The nation did achieve Douglass and Lincoln’s shared goal of abolishing slavery and Lincoln did manage to unify the Union after a lot of hard work but did not achieve Douglass’s dream for

Main goal of the early abolitionists was to create a better society through reforms and they engaged in a battle to convince their fellow Americans that it was morally wrong to keep other humans in bondage. In order to realize a better and more righteous republic, they believed, the institution of slavery had to be rejected (Harpen R., Dal Lago E., p. 296). Many abolitionists appealed to abolish slavery immediately as they believed all people should be equal in rights. The abolitionists demanded immediate emancipation without payment to slaveowners. Rather than accepting the dominant white view of

The African American’s desire to fight and support the war effort caused the country to not only recognize their struggle, but shift the goal of the war to the freeing of slaves in bondage. Near the beginning of the war, Abraham Lincoln wrote to Horace Greeley stating, “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery.”

John Brown thought that the way to overthrow slavery was through violence. John Brown also killed Pro slavery residents or to be more specific civilians that were pro slavery. He also justified his actions by saying it was the will of God, that he committed those murders according to Biography.com.

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

Secondly the peacemakers were faced with was giving freedom to the black slaves, which meant that would be the end of slavery all together.

During the time of Reconstruction, which was from 1865-1877, president Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass had many goals that they wanted to achieve during the Reconstruction period. They shared a common goal of trying to abolish slavery, however, Douglass and Lincoln did have different goals as well that they believed were priorities. Douglass’s goal was to have equality and equal rights among the races and Lincoln’s main goal was to unify the Union after the destruction caused by the Civil War. The nation did achieve Douglass and Lincoln’s shared goal of abolishing slavery and Lincoln did manage to unify the Union after a lot of hard work, but did not achieve Douglass’s dream for equality among the races.

He wondered how someone who hated slavery could promise to protect it in all southern states. He wondered how someone who insisted that blacks were human could support racism. Why would he want to follow Lincoln?

Although Lincoln was opposed to enslaving the African Americans, it is possible that he may never have considered them equals. In the late 1850’s, Lincoln was known to have a similar theme in his speeches, where he made it clear to the people that he did not consider the blacks to be an equal race. He wanted to set them free, but Lincoln wanted to have them shipped off to Africa rather than have them live within the union. In his 1858 campaign in Illinois for the Senate against Stephen Douglas, Lincoln spoke to his listeners and said:

Have you ever tried to imagine slavery? Picture this, you and your family having a nice dinner and out of nowhere someone kicks in your front door and takes you away from your family. Scared and confused, you are constantly hit and yelled at but you don’t understand the language. You are loaded up on a ship as you set sail for a new world that you know nothing about. All without your permission. From reading and looking at documents A- E I’ve discovered that the European people had to fan out and search for someone who they could get labor off of while making them feel inferior, to display what would happen if they were to go rebel against their masters, and to follow the plan that God had for slaves.

Even though he naively believed that white men were the supreme race, he was staunchly against slavery as an institution and felt that the Declaration of Independence included black persons. In the same debate, Lincoln goes on to state that he “[does] not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the Negro should be denied every thing” (Lincoln). He believed that ‘the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’ as outlined in the Declaration of Independence, applies to all men, regardless of their color, ethnicity, or culture. This may be attributed to the fact that he had not had many encounters with Black slaves until when he was in his late teens, where it had a profound impact on him (Foner 8).

to make more changes to ensure blacks had equal rights. Also, most blacks remain skeptical that