Rivka Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 To add to the Emancipation Proc. issue - Lincoln waited for a VERY long time to pass this. He was anti-slavery, but was afraid more border states would leave the Union if he outright banned it. Obviously this was a political issue - but still - Lincoln certainly didn't have the welfare of the slaves at the forefront of his mind. He was trying to keep the US together as one nation, not free slaves. Lincoln's contemporary writings make it clear that he didn't think the president had the power or authority to free the slaves. His personal views were abolitionist, but he wrote that he understood that being the president didn't entitle to codify his personal views as law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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