[DoodleDawg]

Here is a nice except from a PBS story where Lincoln acknowledged not initially ending slavery and when he did only did it in the south and not the north. Kind of hypocritical is it not?

Not really. The Confiscation Acts gave Lincoln the authority to end slavery in areas still in rebellion while the Constitution prevented him from doing so in areas that were not. Ending slavery there required the 13th Amendment, which Lincoln strongly supported and helped push through the House.

[Resolute Conservative]

The money quote:

Though “contraband” slaves had been declared free, Lincoln continued to insist that this was a war to save the Union, not to free slaves. But by 1862, Lincoln was considering emancipation as a necessary step toward winning the war.

[rfreedom4u]

Lincoln also supported sending freed slaves to Africa.