Lincoln was morally opposed to the institution of slavery and sought to bring about its discontinuance by legal and Constitutional means, rather than by unconstitutional means.
“Lincoln was morally opposed to the institution of slavery and sought to bring about its discontinuance by legal and Constitutional means, rather than by unconstitutional means.”
Actually, he was a flip-flopper on this. He declared that he didn’t want to be painted with the abolitionist brush soon after he was elected.
He made the shift to keep England from jumping in on the side of the South. It was a brilliant strategic move on his part.