Essay On Abraham Lincoln Racism

But also, “he also gave little indication, even in private, that he was sensitive or sympathetic to the plight of free African Americans in the North” (Fredrickson 57). He also said, “prewar Lincoln was clearly a white supremacist” (Fredrickson 57). Lincoln thought that slavery was morally wrong but also knew that the Negro race would always be inferior to his race. All of this evidence brings us to the question, can a person who espouses a particular set of race-based views and uses racially charged language not be considered a "racist" in one era, yet be regarded as racist in a more modern era? The answer to this is yes. It is evident in the journal that Lincoln wasn’t necessarily viewed as a racist during his era due to the fact that the constitution said that slavery was ok. Lincoln was very carful with how he said things because he didn’t want to be portrayed as a racist, even though he was. Today it is more evident that he is racist because in today’s era there is awareness and education as to what the word racist actually means. Finally, all of the events of slavery led to why the south seceded from the union. …show more content…
Two main reasons that sparked the civil war both go hand and hand with each other. When Abraham Lincoln freed slaves, the south claim that it was a violation of the divine law. They argued that slavery was a foundation of ordinance and couldn’t be taken away. They also argued that the North was taking full aggression to due away with slavery by encouraging runaway slaves and advocating Black equality. In Apostles of Disunion by Charles B. Dew, Dew says,
With Lincoln’s election the country had fallen under the control of “a great sectional party”… proclaiming the debasing doctrine of the equality of all men, irrespective of race and color… in opposition to the experience of mankind, and in violation of the plainest revelations of Divine Law (Dew