Stephen B. Oates 'Lincoln's Journey To Emancipation'

Words: 258
Pages: 2

According to Stephen B. Oates in, “Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation,” Lincoln shied away from abolishing slavery in the beginning of the war because of anxiety of the possiblility of the border states turning to the Confederacy, the fear of losing support in the North, and the upending turmoil the abolition of slavery would cause in the South. The ingredient behind these motivations, which boil to the heart of Lincoln's caution, is Lincoln's consideration of the enveloping racist sentiment of the American majority. Racism fueled panic amongst Northerners of blacks migrating to the North “who would take away white jobs and copulate with white daughters”(Oates). Lincoln learned through his campaign for Senate against Stephen Douglas, how powerful