Was Lincoln A Racist Or Emancipator?

Some believe that Lincoln was a racist, that he believed that the white race was superior to the black race. Others believe that Lincoln was an emancipator who freed the slaves from the control of their owners. Some believe he may have been both an emancipator and yet still a racist. I believe Lincoln was a emancipator, since he was instrumental in freeing blacks from slavery.

Lincoln believed that “...if slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.” (Fourth). Lincoln accepted that he must uphold the laws of the the United States as defined in the Constitution, even if he disagreed morally with the law. Lincoln professed that “slavery is founded in the selfishness of man’s nature ---opposition to it, is [in?] his love of justice.” (Peoria) This shows that he was a man who found slavery to be unjust. In order to live by his morals, Lincoln worked to change the Constitution to abolish slavery. He also fought to prevent the spread of slavery “...because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself.” (Peoria) Lincoln was willing to have the federal government pay to have states end slavery, because he believed that the law of the states would need to

Ignorance of actual science is not a proof of racism. He knew at the time that most of the black race was more uneducated than the whites and therefore would not qualify for the holding of office, jury duty, or holding of a political office. He indicated that no man, woman or child he had ever met wanted a perfect equality. However, with time he began to push for voting rights for educated blacks. Basically, to understand the meaning of his remarks they need to be viewed from the time in history and political climate in which they were said. As time progressed, Lincoln pushed for more progressive rights for