Lincoln's Changing Views on Slavery

Angie Balsamo
Macomb Junior High School, Macomb

In 1809 a life began that will be remembered for all of history. This was the life of a great president whose views changed and is known for it. Although he faced many hardships and responsibilities, he never let down the American public. This man was Abraham Lincoln.

Born in Kentucky in 1809, Lincoln came from one of the few families who did not own slaves. In their county, there were just over a thousand slaves, an average of two slaves per family. Lincoln's parents were Baptists who did not believe in owning slaves. As a consequence they taught their son not to believe in it. When Abe was seven, he and his family moved to Indiana, where slavery was illegal and the black population was small. Later, his family moved to Illinois. Here, young Abe was elected to the Illinois legislature. In 1837 he introduced a resolution to the legislature that said that slavery was wrong, based on a bad policy, but that efforts to abolish it would make things worse. This continued to be Lincoln's policy until the start of the Civil War.

For a Northerner, Lincoln had seen blacks since a young age. Two or more times in New Orleans, Louisiana, are some of the earliest known. Although Lincoln sometimes faced controversy, he ignored it when it included his wife. Mary Todd, his wife, was born in a slave state, and her family owned slaves. Lincoln visited there many times. She was persecuted by Northerners everywhere but hid her misery from the public eye.

During the 1840s Lincoln continued to think of slavery as being normal. He believed that if slavery was not allowed to expand, it would eventually die. In the Republican platform of 1860, it was stated that in the matter of slavery, the federal government could not interfere. Abe now became more certain of his view of slavery in the states. As president, he tried unsuccessfully to persuade the border slave states to abolish slavery. With one defeat behind him, Lincoln attempted to encourage blacks to move elsewhere. This attempt was also met with defeat. Finally, as a war measure and with the authority of the president, "Honest Abe" issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It stated that all slaves of the Southern states in rebellion were free. This had no effect in the loyal slave states, such as Missouri. Lincoln insisted that the Thirteenth Amendment be part of the Republican party platform. He also worked hard to get Congress to amend the Constitution. Leading the way, Illinois was the first state to ratify it, and in December 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified. By then, however, Lincoln was dead.

Although unable to experience the glory of what he had made possible, Lincoln established a basis for future generations. He thought only about the Union and the American public. He lived with old standards and created new ones, fighting in a war and balancing the sides of another. Honest Abe he was, living through all tragedies except his own. Abraham Lincoln truly freed America.—[From David H. Donald, Lincoln; James McPhersen, Battle Cry of Freedom; Mark E. Neely, The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia; Benjamin Quarles, Lincoln and the Negro; Benjamin Thomas, Abraham Lincoln.]

40	ILLINOIS HISTORY / FEBRUARY 1997