Lincoln and Anti-Slavery
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln is probably known as one of the biggest Anti-Slavery advocates in the 1860’s. There is however, a little bit of a common misunderstanding held by everyone. Lincoln was not considered an abolitionist. Abe was on that believed that slavery was morally wrong and should not be allowed. But one thing stood in his way and that was the constitution. The founding fathers when writing the constitution did not mention slavery once and beat around the bush of the idea.
Lincoln did similar actions while addressing the issue. In a three hour speech in Peoria, Illinois, Lincoln addressed his moral, legal, and economic opposition to slavery. He later admitted he did not know how to deal with the system during the current political system. Abolitionists on the other hand had a plan and were ready to complete it. They believed it should immediately be abolished and all slaves should be free. They unlike Lincoln did not care about mending the idea into the current political system.
Lincoln also believed that black people should not have the same rights and freedom that white people did. He believed the idea from the founding fathers that “All men are created equal”, but he did not think they should have the same social and political views as white people at the time. He stated once in a debate in Charleston, Illinois, “I will say then that I am not, nor have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races”. So although he wanted the slaves free that did not mean he believed they should have the same rights. He thought that slaves should also not have the right to vote if they were freed.
Like his views on many things, Lincoln’s position on slaves and their social and political beliefs did start to change. By the end Lincoln was one of the most popular Anti-Slavery presidents of all time eventually freeing all the slaves.
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