Abraham Lincoln views on slavery swayed
through the years. Five months after the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed in 1854,
Lincoln gave a speech in Peoria, Illinois giving his opinion on the issue of
slavery and its expansion. He felt that popular sovereignty was a bad idea, and
that letting slavery expand into new states or territories was “wrong in its
direct effect. . . allowing it to spread to every other part of the wide world”.
(Lincoln 1: 267). Lincoln stated that he felt the institution of slavery was
unjust, made us look like hypocrites to the world and made American citizens
doubt the very ideals that the United States was built upon. He stated that he
understood how slavery worked in American society and didn’t blame the people
whose lives had already been built around the institution. Lincoln said that
his first instinct is to let all the slaves be free and help them settle in
Liberia, in Africa. The only reason he didn’t think that is a feasible idea is
that there was not funds or infrastructure to help them gainfully establish
themselves there. Lincoln was against the Kansas-Nebraska act because it showed
that the concept of enslaving another human being could be morally right, and
led Americans to forget the concept of liberty of which the United States was
founded upon. Lincoln’s views of the idea of slavery in American society is
that it had changed from a necessary evil to a basic moral right. (Lincoln 1:
268).
During his fourth debate with
Stephen Douglas in 1858, Lincoln asserted that he was not interested in making
the “negroes” an equal with the white man when it comes to social or political
issues. He noted that there is a physical difference between whites and blacks,
that the whites are inherently superior over the blacks who are inferior.
Lincoln notes that no one in the America thought that blacks and whites should
be equal and neither does he, but that shouldn’t mean that the “negro should be
denied every thing.” (Lincoln). Lincoln
started the “separate but equal” sentiment that plagued this country for years
to come: he felt that the citizens of
the United States could be around each other without enslaving one over the
other and without intermingling too much. Lincoln does not think that negroes should
vote, be jurors, hold office or marry whites. While Lincoln felt that the
institution of slavery was wrong, he didn’t feel that blacks should have equal
rights as whites because they are innately inferior to the white race.
Because these speeches were made on
the campaign trail, Lincoln appeared to be playing politics. Although it is
possible for his mind to have changed, he substantially changed the ways in
which he represented the slavery issue depending on what was going on in the
country at the time and how he wanted to influence others. In a letter to
Horace Greeley, in 1862, Lincoln notes that his only goal is to save the
union. His interactions with the slavery
issue would only be in regards to how it could pull the country together and
save it. Lincoln said that he would
gladly keep or end slavery as he sees fit to save the Union. He stated that not only was slavery not his
main concern, if he could save the Union without freeing a single slave, that
is what he would have done. At the end of the letter to Greeley, Lincoln left
his readers with a final personal note that he wished “all men every where
could be free.” (Lincoln 1: 267). Even with this letter, it is easy to question
Lincoln’s true thoughts. Since this letter
was written after the war started, he is forced to defend whatever actions he
decides to take to the general public.
This was made very clear in the The
Emancipation Proclamation where Lincoln freed slaves in the rebellious
Confederacy – that is unless they were in places that the North had already
taken over. Lincoln methodically listed
the parishes, cities and counties that were exempt from the freedom that The Emancipation Proclamation promised
to most of the slaves in the Confederacy. This showed Lincoln was true to his
word in his letter to Greeley. Lincoln
only freed the slaves that would benefit the war efforts of the Union. Slaves
set free in the Confederacy would limit the resources and manpower available to
help support the South’s war effort as well as the financial well being of
families of the South.
Lincoln,
Abraham. "The Emancipation Proclamation." 1 Jan. 1863. to 1877, edited by Michael P. Johnson,
5th ed., Boston, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012, pp. 284-85. 2 vols.
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"Fourth Debate with Stephen Douglas." 18 Sept. 1858, Charleston, IL.
Speech transcript.
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"Letter to Horace Greeley." 22 Aug. 1862. Letter.
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"Speech in Peoria, IL." 16 Oct. 1854. To 1877, edited by Michael P. Johnson, 5th ed., Bedford/St.
Martin's, 2012, pp. 266-69. 2 vols. Speech.
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