Lincoln was a well respected man. Honesty was the biggest key in his life. He was someone who was able to use words, images, and reasoning to influence his audience and give his ideas power. Even when he was in danger, he was able to embody unity, forgiveness, and perseverance. He knew the country’s values and virtues. Lincoln understood the public’s opinions. He knew slavery was a popular discussion around the public. A lot of people have said that Lincoln viewed public opinion as embodying universal, objective, rational principles and ideas. “I saw the court’s decision that Negroes were ineligible to obtain citizenship and legal rights—along with the court’s declaration that no branch of government could exclude slavery from the territories—as
