An Intriguing Question on Lincoln

One could question the integrity of a man as prestigiously held up as Abraham Lincoln. After all, we are all human, correct? The opinions of a man, even when thorough documentation is present, such as in this case, can never be fully known. It is possible, however, to make safely drawn judgments of character due to his actions and words. Lincoln is a strange persona inevitably and mythically immortalized as a hero with a personal pedestal in the figmental hall of historic fame.

You could question his ideology. Was he a racist? Not entirely. In debates with Stephen A. Douglas, Good ol’ Abe states that he believes white men are far more superior intellectually. As a counter-argument however, in his (house-divided) speech he shows his less prejudiced side stating that he believes equality should be brought to the Negroes of society; at least when it comes to work and things attained through it. Lincoln also assisted in the passing of a bill, which called for the equal pay and promotion to the colored regiments of the growing militia, which was in part, brought upon by the influence of Frederick Douglass.

That aside, I want to take a moment to say that Lincoln was against slavery! Nowhere in any of the context of Lincoln’s own words does he state that he will let slavery go without backing himself up with something along the lines of him preserving the best interests of the Union. He refers to slavery as a trying burden in his second Inaugural address and implies that it may be removed by a “Higher Force” in the near future. And don’t even bring up Liberia. It was a sensible idea at the time. It would have negated the problem, and it can be dismissed due to the fact that it was obviously never a plan that was initiated and was trashed in its early stages. Lincoln was ahead of his time, and although not radical, his thinking was certainly being nudged in the right direction by the abolitionists of the time. He developed a rather strong relationship with previously mentioned Frederick Douglass, but although very moved and changed by talks with Douglass, Lincoln believed he, although Commander in Chief, did not have the liberty to force his personal opinions upon the nation. (Letter to Horace Greely) He would have faded out slavery rather than abolish it instantaneously, for that would do even larger damage to the southern economy, which relied heavily on the cheap cash crops slavery yielded.