Dissertation
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For many Americans, Abraham Lincoln is remembered as the ‘Great Emancipator’, the president who freed
the slaves and won the Civil War for liberty and democracy. There is some value in this sentiment, yet it fails
to take into account the years prior to the war when Lincoln struggled with his views on slavery, slaveholders
and the Southern section in general. In 1864, after issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln asserted
that ‘I am naturally antislavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so
think, and feel.’# This expression can be verified by examining the extensive collection of works produced by
Lincoln, in which he regularly asserts his moral opposition to the institution. There is a question, however, of
how far Lincoln was willing to oppose slavery. While he may have professed a lifelong feeling that slavery
was immoral, there were limits to his practical opposition, and he never advocated immediate, or even
gradual emancipation. At times the institution was seen more as a threat to economic liberty rather than
absolute freedom. Lincoln’s attitude toward abolitionists and their doctrines can likewise cause some
confusion concerning his position with regard to slavery.
Historians and biographers have tended to focus on Lincoln’s attitude to slavery during his presidency,
especially his decision to issue the Emancipation Declaration. The period before his election, however, has
received mixed coverage. Some historians, including Stephen Oates and Richard Carwardine, have spent
time detailing the development of Lincoln’s antislavery views, and how those views affected his speeches
and letters. Therefore this study will investigate Lincoln’s works to evaluate how his views on slavery were
manifested in the period prior to the 1860 presidential election. It will also attempt to provide a range of
historians’ interpretations of Lincoln’s attitude towards slavery in the antebellum period. Chapter two
examines Lincoln’s values to determine the origins, development and limitations of his antislavery views. It
also takes into account Lincoln’s ideas on race and the extent of equality. In Chapter Three, the political
events and crises that helped to influence Lincoln’s views of slavery will be considered. This will include
Lincoln’s congressional service in the 1840s, as well as his reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the
Dred Scott decision in the 1850s. This chapter will also evaluate Lincoln’s attitudes towards slaveholders
and his ideas for tackling slavery. Once all of these areas have been considered, it should be apparent that
while Lincoln was indeed ‘naturally antislavery’ as he purported to be, there were certain limits to his political
and practical opposition to the institution.
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