Lincoln's First Inaugural Address Analysis

During the Civil War, President Lincoln’s position on the practice of slavery changed from the start to the end of the war. He expresses his views about slavery through a variety of primary documents; both of Lincoln’s inaugural addresses, his letters to Horace Greeley, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution. Through these documents, Lincoln demonstrates his initial feeling towards slavery as being neutral/indifferent for his priority was to keep the Union/nation unified. As the war continued, he stuck by his desire to keep the unification of the Union regardless of the status of slavery.

When President Lincoln first took office, his view on slavery is that he can’t and has no position getting rid of it in the states where it already exists. In his first Inaugural Address, he explains, “ I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it already exists.” This greatly expresses his view in that, slavery is not his to deal with at all. Another example of this, also stated in Lincoln’s first Inaugural Address, “. . . the right of each state to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgement exclusively, is essential to that balance
In his letter to Horace Greeley, Lincoln vocalized, “ 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. . .” Here he is showing that he wants to do things for the Union. He wants it to be united with no problems. Another example of this is also in Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, Lincoln notes, “ What I do about Slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union.” He is further expressing the value of the Union to him and how it is an important part of the Northern