How Did Abraham Lincoln Influence The Anti Slavery Movement

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th US president, was famous for his role in the emancipation of slaves. Lincoln’s influence was exaggerated, in light of the dominant ideology of white supremacy, particularly in the southern American states. However both during and after his death in 1865 there were conflicting views about his influence on the anti-slavery movement. He played an important part in the steps towards the abolition of slavery, particularly in relation to legislation, but historians have skewed the assessment of his role in a positive way when his true racial prejudices have been hidden.

Slavery in America was first introduced (according to Slavery in America, 2018) in 1619 when a Dutch ship brought twenty African slaves to Virginia. …show more content…
He continues questioning Lincolns morals and states, “when he strangely told us that we were the cause of the war; when he still more strangely told us to leave the land in which we were born; when he refused to employ our arms in defence of the Union; when, after accepting our services as coloured soldiers, he refused to retaliate our murder and torture as coloured prisoners; when he told us he would save the Union if he could with slavery; when he revoked the Proclamation of Emancipation of General Fremont; when he refused to remove the popular commander of the Army of the Potomac, in the days of its inaction and defeat,” (Douglass, F, 1896) This powerful and moving statement identifies the often covered up actions of Abraham Lincoln and uncovers the hidden and supressed ideology that Lincoln had . These awful and self- beneficial acts prove that Lincoln was therefore not trying to abolish slavery for the benefit of black people but rather to further his own ambitions and reputation. Therefore proving that due to white media and historians skewing the reality of what Abraham Lincoln did, the truth of his ambitions were