CivilWarEssayAsiaKE09

Asia Knight Earth From what I know and researched, Abraham Lincoln is not an abolitionist, despite what people may think. I believe that his choices have changed my views on him and his own morals.

One thing that Abraham did to change my views on him was that he didn’t even care for slavery that much, only the Union concerned him. In his presidency, Abraham Lincoln seemed to try and make his job a lot easier by using the government to say he couldn’t stop slavery in states already controlled by the Union. It was like he wanted it that way because he stated, "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and l eaving others alone I would also do that...I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free." So, this shows that Lincoln would opt to stop slavery if it helped the Union in a way. “What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause.” Even though Abraham was said to be an abolitionist, he didn’t do much to stop it in his years in office. To m e, all he did was write speeches about it, but no actions seemed to follow his words. In one of his speeches, he stated, “ Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” But then he stated later on, "We well know that those of the great mass of white people will not ... We can not, then, make them equals." He contradicted himself, and that’s what confuses me. It seems as if Abraham was confused himself and that he didn’t know what to believe in. But if you’re going to run a country, at least have some idea of what you’re going to do to help. Abraham Lincoln may have thought slavery was wrong, but he was still somewhat as ignorant as his own people at that time. Since there was a huge population of white people against black people,