Douglass stated, “for no man who knew Abraham Lincoln could hate him” (84). Douglass came to terms with and accepted the decisions Lincoln made towards the end of the speech. Douglass explained to his audience that “had he [Lincoln] put the abolition of slavery before the salvation of the Union, he would have inevitably driven from him a powerful class of the American people and rendered resistance to rebellion impossible.” (81). Lincoln was determined to save the union under the constitution, in order to soothe the public into accepting his efforts at abolishing slavery. Ultimately, he freed slaves all over the