Lincoln wanted to free the slaves. That's why the South seceded

[Mampula]

If Lincoln had said "I want to free the slaves" he would not have won the election, geniuses. Too many voters in the South AND NORTH were racist for him to say that.

Some here are quoting Lincoln's words, as if in Politics politicians always say what's in their hearts.

In the 1860's, being an abolitionist was an extremist position, and although Lincoln was an abolitionist, he could not say it.

Do you see liberal congressman calling themselves liberal? No, because they feel that this label will hinder their chances. It doesn't mean they are telling the truth.

Lincoln was one of the greatest if not the greatest American POLITICIANS in history.

Besides, he knew what black people went through. Lincoln wasn't a good-looking guy, as you can see in pictures, and during his childhood he was mocked for his physical appearance. Blacks were also subject to this type of mockery, and Lincoln felt their pain.

Let me add that Southerners seceded because they KNEW that if Lincoln won the elections he would free the slaves. Southerners may have been racist but they were not stupid.

In short, don't go by people's speeches. Go by their actions. Ultimately, Lincoln freed the slaves, and this was one of the greatest accomplishments in our history, because he both wanted to save the Union AND abolish slavery.

[billyoc]

1. I'm still kicking myself for voting Democratic.

:rofl:

[Bicoastal]

2. Lincoln empathized with black people because he was an ugly kid?

That's the silliest thing I ever heard. In the 1860's, black people had MUCH bigger problems than schoolyard teasing.

[Mampula]

5. I said "besides"

Meaning it wasn't the only reason. Lincoln had convictions. I simply stated that being mistreated as a kid made him identify himself with those oppressed.

[Dhampir Kampf]

3. No.

It didn't matter what the south thought, and Lincoln knew that. He won without carrying a single southern state, which caused south carolina to finally secede after threatening for over 50 years.

The war was what made Lincoln decide to do it. Not his "hiding" his views.

[Dhampir Kampf]

4. Wow, I just realized my signature was still for Edwards, lol.

[Clovis Sangrail]

6. No

Lincoln was a die hard racist just a couple of years before he became president.
(look up his speeches to the house)

The emancipation proclamation wasn't something he'd been sitting on; it was done reluctantly and for political expediency.
Initially it would have allowed states that returned to the union to keep their slaves.

Lincoln may have been a great politician but the idea that his morality drove him on a quest to end slavery is a myth.

[Richard Steele]

7. Your history grade for today: FAIL.

Wrong in so many ways.

[EastTennesseeDem]

8. So, uh, why did he continue to say these things while he was in office

and we were already in the middle of a raging war? What, would this country have said "WE WANT A DO-OVER!", called a truce, and ran a re-election?

i.e. the letter to Greeley I quoted in the other thread?