Lincoln also believed in the inferiority of blacks and demanded they not be allowed into Illinois nor to marry whites. Lincoln was a racist.
It was the Democrats who passed the law barring African-Americans from Illinoios.
Please name me one person living during the period who would not be considered a racist by today's standards? Lincoln believed slavery was wrong. Lincoln believed that blacks were entitled to the exact same God given rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence that whites were. Those alone places him head and shoulders over virtually any Northern leader you care to name. And every Southern one.