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Opposition To Slavery Dbq Essay

761 Words4 Pages

Abraham Lincoln often seemed to contradict himself on the subject of slavery. This was most often the case during his campaigns for office. The campaign for Senate that put him in the national spotlight ended in a loss perhaps in part due to his opponent, a pro-slavery states’ rights advocate by the name of Stephen Douglas, bringing attention to these contradictions. Illinois was divided on the issue of slavery in 1858. Northern Illinois had a large abolitionist movement while the southern half of the state had a majority that supported slavery. Due to this division, Lincoln frequently gave speeches in one part of the state and gave very different speeches in the other part of the state. Lincoln wrote to friends in private about his intense …show more content…

In response to this claim, Lincoln stated in the fourth of the debates that he was “not in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races…and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.” Here, the inconsistency in the reasoning behind Lincoln’s opposition to slavery was most apparent. As Douglas pointed out in his rebuttal, “in every speech he made in the north he quoted the Declaration of Independence to prove that all men were created equal, and insisted that the phrase "all men" included the negro as well as the white man, and that the equality rested upon divine …show more content…

Instead of interfering with existing slave states, Lincoln aimed to stop the spread of slavery to new states. His public goal was emancipation over time instead of immediate liberation. In a letter written to a slave-owning friend of his, Lincoln plainly stated, “I do oppose the extension of slavery because my judgment and feeling so prompt me, and I am under no obligations to the contrary.” In the same letter, he contended that, “I am not aware that any one is bidding you yield that right (to own slaves); very certainly I am

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