Abraham Lincoln's changing position on slavery?

Question

How did Abraham Lincoln’s position on slavery and the status of Blacks in America change over time?  What accounts for his shifts?  Cover the period from 1854 to 1865....

staisil · Accepted Answer

The Emancipation Proclamation was a political move on Lincoln's part to weaken the South, add troops to the Union Army and sway European favor to the North; of which all were accomplished.

If you know the history of Abraham Lincoln you would know that he never approved of slavery; yet he was a man of his time who believed that blacks were inferior to whites.

The sites below will give you additional information.

http://www.lib.niu.edu/1997/ihy970225.html
http://www.npr.org/2010/10/11/130489804/lincolns-evolving-thoughts-on-slavery-and-freedom
http://suite101.com/article/abraham-lincoln-on-race-and-slavery-a145716

ammianus · Answer

By Summer 1862, Lincoln realized that crushing secession and forcing the Confederate states back into the Union was not nearly as quick and easy a task as he had originally thought.Already there was internal opposition to the war,with some calling for a negotiated peace.Additionally,the fact that the Confederate States of America was no nearer being extinguished at the end of Summer 1862 than it had been at the start of Summer 1861 was garnering admiration in Europe.

Lincoln needed to boost internal support for the war,and to lessen international sympathy for the CSA.He therefore issued his Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862,which claimed that the war was now a moral issue,and all about ending slavery.In reality however,Lincoln's main war objective remained the same - to preserve the Union by invading and occupying the CSA and forcing the seceding states back into the Union.

So,political necessity accounts for his shift in attitude towards slavery.

Abraham Lincoln's changing position on slavery?

2 Answers