White Supremacist Ideology Analysis

White supremacist ideology is part of the backbone of the United States for it permeates founding documents and survives in the everyday beliefs of the people. This ideology is the umbrella under which many of the barriers Lincoln faced stemmed. Supremacist ideology exists only so long as the superiority of a race is accepted by a culture, and the culture of the United States both in the north and the South believed in it. Although many believed that slaves should be free, Lincoln had to take care to not ruffle too many feathers. Abolitionists pushed for the freedom of slaves, but for the Radical Republicans this was not enough, and for Democrats, it was a direct attack on their constitution (Dew 29). Lincoln was attacked by both Republicans …show more content…
His success depended on his support of the people and in order to garner such support he needed both republicans and democrats alike on his side. Without the support of both parties the abolitionist efforts would be for naught as “politics, and politics along” would be the way to successfully end slavery (Oakes 106). This lead to his use of cyclical language and expert diversionary tactics in answering questions of slavery and race. Many members of both parties often accused Lincoln of never speaking his mind, and simply skirting around issues. Radicals also accused Lincoln of being hesitant and unclear in his opinions on the matter of abolition (Foner 190). These accusations were properly founded and done to ensure that the government would hold and no side alienated from the discussion of the issue at hand. He placated the Democrats by emphasizing he was not for the equality of black men whilst also promoting the idea of freedom to Republicans. Moreover, there were even instances in which Lincoln refused to admit his opinions publicly and on an official statement for the fear that in doing so he would instigate a “quarrel” with the Radicals (Foner