Dissertation
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Abraham Lincoln had claimed to be ‘naturally antislavery’ in 1864, and this does appear to be true. He
repeatedly affirmed in his private writings and public speeches that he saw an inherent wrong in the
institution, and this sentiment grew stronger as he re-emerged into political life in the mid 1850s. Lincoln
spoke out against the injustice that Kansas-Nebraska threatened to inflict upon the nation, by making slavery
the norm and jeopardising freedom for all. In the debates in 1858 with Stephen Douglas over the morality of
slavery, Lincoln seemed satisfied that he had participated, when he declared that:
I think we have fairly entered upon a durable struggle as to whether this nation is to ultimately become all
slave or all free, and though I fall early in the contest, it is nothing if I shall have contributed, in the least
degree, to the final rightful result.#
The development of Lincoln as an antislavery politician was gradual. To determine the extent of Lincoln’s
opposition of slavery involves a careful consideration of the context within which speeches and letters were
made. As Neely notes, Lincoln’s ‘racial policies, especially, changed dramatically in the space of a very few
years.’# In the years prior to 1854, Lincoln was fairly half-hearted in declaring his opposition to slavery and
apparently more concerned with economic concerns than with the inhumanity of human bondage. While his
opposition to slavery is clear, there is no evidence in his writings that he was in favour of immediate abolition
of slavery, or even gradual and compensated emancipation. One of Lincoln’s stranger opinions was that
blacks should be sent to Africa, and thus all sides of the slavery question could be satisfied. Lincoln was
concerned that abolitionists might galvanise the whole Southern section into defending slavery. He
considered the average Southerner to be no different from people in the North. It was the nefarious influence
of a group of rich plantation owners which incited the rest of the South into a defence of an institution that
most Southerners did not care for. Lincoln perceived a fundamental equality among all races, as enshrined
in the Declaration of Independence. This equality, however, did not extend to include political and social parity
for blacks, a view Lincoln shared with the majority of whites in the North as well as the South.
As indicated above, there were definitely limitations to Lincoln’s opposition to slavery. What can be seen in
Lincoln’s words is a consistency of moral opposition to the institution. This opposition strengthens over time,
especially after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The fact remains that Lincoln was opposed to
slavery as an institution which promoted harsh treatment, and allowed a few men to live off the toil of others.
He felt all men, of any colour, were entitled to live by the rewards of their own labour. Slavery prohibited this
ideal, and therefore Lincoln was of the adamant opinion that slavery should not be allowed to expand to free
territories, but restricted so that it would die the natural death envisaged by the Founders. He felt that
immediate emancipation would cause more problems that the continuance of slavery. Left to the passage of
time, confined within the Southern slave states, slavery would eventually die. It should be remembered that
Lincoln’s hesitancy to interfere with slavery was rooted in his dedication to the American legal system that
had sustained him, not from a sympathy with slaveholders. Paludan suggested that ‘Lincoln was a man who
harnessed his passions and who admired the institutions of a land that needed discipline as much as it
wanted liberty.’# This is the Lincoln that would oppose slavery on moral grounds while respecting the rights
of slaveholders to their property, as decreed in the Constitution. It is a more ambiguous Lincoln than the ideal
of the ‘Great Emancipator’, but it reflects Lincoln’s dedication to upholding the political and legal foundations
upon which America was built. It also reflects a Lincoln rooted in the political world of mid-nineteenth century
America. The generation of the Founders was past, and Lincoln felt an obligation to interpret their intentions
to the benefit of all the people. Lincoln did agree with abolitionists in their wishes to see the end of slavery,
but differed in the methods that should be used, and the length of time needed. In the years prior to 1860,
Lincoln’s biggest concern was to see slavery checked, not abolished, and expressed two possible futures for
the American continent:
Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall
rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall
become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new - North as well as South.#
Lincoln assured his audiences that he was resolutely among of the opponents of slavery, and despite certain
limitations, it would be hard to consider him as anything else.
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