Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery in the United States is one of the most discussed aspects of his life. Lincoln frequently expressed his moral opposition to slavery in public and private. [1] "I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong," he stated.

From the beginning of his political career, and for most of his life, Lincoln believed that colonization would provide the solution to slavery. He shared Henry Clay’s view on the principle of colonization by which free African Americans would be transported back to …

Sep 21, 2012 · In a three-hour speech in Peoria, Illinois, in the fall of 1854, Lincoln presented more clearly than ever his moral, legal and economic opposition to slavery—and then admitted he didn’t know...

Abraham Lincoln is often referred to as "The Great Emancipator" and yet, he did not publicly call for emancipation throughout his entire life. Lincoln began his public career by claiming that he was "antislavery" -- against slavery's expansion, but not calling for immediate emancipation.

Oct 29, 2009 · On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that as of January 1, 1863, all enslaved people in the states currently...

Jan 24, 2023 · Slavery was incompatible with the Declaration’s claim of equality, and the Constitution and the Union existed to serve the Declaration. In everything he said and did to preserve the Union and end slavery, Lincoln took into account the opinions and prejudices of the varied audiences he addressed.

May 10, 2022 · Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. In 1863 President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the ...

Feb 4, 2025 · One of the many letters Abraham Lincoln received after being elected president in November 1860 was from Alexander Stephens, a former congressional colleague of Lincoln and the future Vice-President of the Confederacy. ... Freedom, however, was national. The Constitution was not a pro-slavery document. Lincoln, congressional Republicans, and ...

Through the 1830s and 1840s, Abraham Lincoln’s primary political focus was on economic issues. However, the escalating debate over slavery in the 1850s, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act in particular, compelled Lincoln to change his emphasis.

Apr 2, 2024 · The following history of slavery in the American republic is taken from Abraham Lincoln’s speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act’s repeal of the Missouri Compromise. The long debate over slavery leading up to the Civil War turned on …