U.S. CIVIL WAR
Abolition is the legal prohibition and ending of something. Abolition has for many years been experienced all over the world including in the U.S. In 1861 for instance, there was a civil war in America which saw the southern part break away from the north. All this was caused by the differences in the legality of slavery in the fact that the southern part had made slavery legal and the northern part was against it. By that time Abraham Lincoln had been appointed as the US president in 1860 and he aimed at total extinction and abolition of slavery. This can be seen through his words “A house divided against itself cannot stand, I do not expect the house to fall-but I do expect it will cease to divide.” (Lincoln’s, “House Divided’ speech in Springfield., Illinois, June 16, 1858.) He meant that the varying understanding between the two states could be resolved by having a common legal understanding on slavery and in so doing he aimed at abolition of slavery (Lincoln 345).
Abraham Lincoln strongly opposed slavery majorly because during his early childhood he lived in Kentucky where slavery at that time was at its peak and he knew what the slaves went through and the freedom they called for when he got into power (Philip 212). He considered slavery as inhumane and cruel. This can be seen through his statements that “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not themselves” (Abraham Lincoln). He also opposed slavery because his family was of the Separate Baptist religion and such a religion strongly opposed slavery. His main aim was the abolition of slavery and to avoid the expansion of slavery to all the states that he governed that time because he was president.
Abraham Lincoln used his political and legal understanding to abolish slavery. He knew all the rights and freedom that the slaves and people as a whole required. He also stood by the Republican Party platform which he had used to be elected as president, which stated that slavery was not to be allowed to spread or extend to any part of the USA (Lincoln 127). He had for a long time made sure that those states that were not affected with slavery did not fall into the trap by advocating for abolition of slavery. He also implemented the constitution to the maximum and he supported the 13th amendment of the constitution which aimed at abolition of slavery (Striner 89).
It was hard for Lincoln to abolish slavery at once so he sorted to start with the western part which would see the abolition spread to other parts including the southern part (Howard 112). He did this by not supporting abolition to the maximum but in real sense he fully supported abolition. There are instances when he was seen to oppose some acts that abolished slavery but eventually he came to support fully the fact that slavery was to be abolished. In 1863 he declared that all slaves were free and he gave the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation which saw most of the states declare slaves as free though it did not take immediate effect in the fact that not all slaves were freed at once but as time went by they became free.
In conclusion, Abraham Lincoln played a key role in abolition of slavery, firstly he strongly opposed it because he had all the experience from his childhood on the difficulties the slaves went through and his religion also strongly opposed slavery. Abraham Lincoln was also well informed and learned about the law and he abided to the constitution and he stood by the Republican Party platform which made sure that slavery did not spread to other parts of America. He supported the 13th amendment which pushed for abolition of slavery allover all states in America. However, he did not live to see all slaves free because he was assassinated before all he had advocated for was implemented including the 13th amendment. Abraham Lincoln was an abolitionist who helped stop slavery completely in the United States.
Works Cited
Striner, Richard. Father Abraham: Lincoln’s relentless struggle to end slavery. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
Lincoln, Abraham. Injustice the Foundation of slavery: Life and works of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Marion Mills Miller, 1907. Print.
Philip, Magnes and Sebastian, Page. Colonization after Emancipation: Lincoln and the movement for black resettlement. New York: University of Missouri Press, 2011. Print.
Howard, Jones. Abraham Lincoln and a new birth of freedom: Union and slavery in the Diplomacy of the civil war. Louisiana: States University Press, 1999. Print.
