If you look at the “Lincoln/Douglas debates” you will see that although Lincoln disagreed with slavery, he did not feel that African Americans deserved equal rights. He didn’t want them to be citizens and to go to school with his kids, but he didn’t think they should be property either.
If you read the emancipation proclamation you will see that it did not actually free any slaves, as a matter of fact they were not free until the 13th amendment was officially ratified and he was already dead. The emancipation proclamation was meant as a war tactic. The north was struggling during the war and wanted to gain an alliance with Britain. Britain was strictly against slavery so Lincoln wrote the proclamation to show Britain that (although they were trading partners with the south) the north was who they were more morally aligned with and that they should help them fight the south.
I think Lincoln was a very intelligent man who truly personifies the American dream because he truly rose from nothing to become the most powerful man in the country and to truly change the world. However, I think that over time the insight into his policies has been lost. He is credited with things that he did not achieve. However, for the time in which he lived, he truly was a trail blazer. the truth is though, if he existed today I highly doubt he would be elected mayor let alone president.
