Abraham Lincoln Was President Because He Was Moderate
Lincoln was not an abolitionist, but did his actions speak louder than words?
“Historians have been wrestling, ever since, with what it was, exactly, that changed Lincoln from an antislavery moderate to the Great Emancipator, and more and more scholars have come to believe that it wasn’t just Lincoln’s own great compassion.” — Justin Ewers, USNews
Abraham Lincoln is remembered today as someone who emancipated slaves in America and won the Civil War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents in American history.
But what few people know from the mythology and legacy of Lincoln is that he was chosen as a candidate for the Republican Party because he the most moderate candidate in the 1860 Republican National Convention. Many other candidates, including New York Senator, William Seward, were more progressive and radical in wanting to curb slavery. Lincoln, however, was not.
According to Justin Ewers at US News, Lincoln had to be pushed by abolitionists and Radical Republicans to push for the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment. Ewers, summarizing the views of many scholars, reiterates that Lincoln did not campaign on a platform of abolition — he wanted to stop the expansion of slavery into new states…
