Lincoln and Slavery

Kendra Cunningham
Good Shepherd Lutheran School, Collinsville

To most of America, Abraham Lincoln is a hero who abolished slavery. Much of America believes Abraham Lincoln hated slavery before he rose to power. This is not completely true. Before Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, he had no intent to destroy slavery. In his inaugural speech, Lincoln said, "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with slavery in the states where it exists." At the beginning of the Civil War, Lincoln also said that whatever he did about slavery was only to save the Union. As the Civil War progressed, Lincoln's thoughts and views changed.

What caused this drastic change? That question may never be answered. Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation on July 22, 1862. When he first read it to his Cabinet, they opposed it. Most of them said it would do more harm than good. It was only after the New York Tribune complained that Lincoln was too soft in regards to slavery that he finally decided to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. It was released on January 1, 1863. Seven years before, Lincoln wrote, "As a nation, we began by declaring that 'all men are created equal.' We now practically read it 'all men are created equal, except Negroes'."

What took him so long to change his mind? Only Lincoln knew the answer. Since he had pledged in his inaugural speech not to interfere with slavery in the states that remained loyal to the Union, the Emancipation Proclamation freed only those slaves in the states that had seceded from the Union and were part of the Confederate States of America. This would prove to be ineffective since the slaves' masters believed they were part of a completely different country. By the Union winning the war, however, Lincoln achieved two great goals: he kept the states together as one country, and he abolished slavery in the United States of America. We must remember Abraham Lincoln as a truly remarkable man, but we must also remember that he was not perfect.—[From Elizabeth Rider Montgomery, Toward Democracy; William 0. Douglas, An Almanac of Liberty; Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma.}

Lincoln was often compared to George Washington; in this portrait, titled The Father and the Saviour of Our Country, the two men appear side by side.

ILLINOIS HISTORY / FEBRUARY 1997

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