Abraham Lincoln Views on Slavery
Abraham Lincoln; Indecisively Decisive
Michelle Futo
AMH 2010-02
November 19, 2012
Former President Abraham Lincoln is accredited for creating the Emancipation Proclamation and ending slavery in the United States. Due to his actions before and during the Civil War, it seems as though Lincoln always viewed slavery as a terrible thing that must be stopped immediately. But that was not how he always felt. Lincoln’s views on slavery varied during his political career and his plan of action was mostly based off of how he personally felt about slavery. Lincoln admitted in his speeches that he knew slavery was wrong, but the steps that had to be taken to deal with slavery were never concrete in his mind. Based on Lincoln’s upbringing, political support and knowledge of the nation, he had many different ideas on how to deal with the issue of slavery during his political career.
When Lincoln was a young boy, some of his family who lived in Kentucky owned slaves, but his parents were always against becoming slave owners. In the church they belonged to, there was a divide between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery members. His parents joined the anti-slavery party and they went on to form their own congregation. His family then moved and settled in the free state of Illinois. Lincoln’s mom died at a young age which forced his father to become the lead parent, and Lincoln grew to resent is father. He only found comfort in books, and stayed away from manual labor. His decision to become a lawyer was directly affected by his hatred for labor. As Lincoln grew to become a important corporate lawyer, he also took on some cases dealing with slavery. He represented both slaves and slave owners. Yet, when he became the Illinois congressman in 1846, he supported Wimot Proviso. This would have banned slavery in any territory that was acquired from Mexico. During his Peoria Speech Lincoln stated, “I think I may venture to say I voted for it at least forty times; during the short
Michelle Futo
AMH 2010-02
November 19, 2012
Former President Abraham Lincoln is accredited for creating the Emancipation Proclamation and ending slavery in the United States. Due to his actions before and during the Civil War, it seems as though Lincoln always viewed slavery as a terrible thing that must be stopped immediately. But that was not how he always felt. Lincoln’s views on slavery varied during his political career and his plan of action was mostly based off of how he personally felt about slavery. Lincoln admitted in his speeches that he knew slavery was wrong, but the steps that had to be taken to deal with slavery were never concrete in his mind. Based on Lincoln’s upbringing, political support and knowledge of the nation, he had many different ideas on how to deal with the issue of slavery during his political career.
When Lincoln was a young boy, some of his family who lived in Kentucky owned slaves, but his parents were always against becoming slave owners. In the church they belonged to, there was a divide between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery members. His parents joined the anti-slavery party and they went on to form their own congregation. His family then moved and settled in the free state of Illinois. Lincoln’s mom died at a young age which forced his father to become the lead parent, and Lincoln grew to resent is father. He only found comfort in books, and stayed away from manual labor. His decision to become a lawyer was directly affected by his hatred for labor. As Lincoln grew to become a important corporate lawyer, he also took on some cases dealing with slavery. He represented both slaves and slave owners. Yet, when he became the Illinois congressman in 1846, he supported Wimot Proviso. This would have banned slavery in any territory that was acquired from Mexico. During his Peoria Speech Lincoln stated, “I think I may venture to say I voted for it at least forty times; during the short
Cited: Johnson, Michael P., ed. Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War. 2nd ed. N.p.: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2011. Print. Sheppard, Jonathan. "Descent to Conflict." 14 Nov. 2012. Lecture.