Joey, the progressive, fake-republican, big-government, Lincoln-apologist is only trying to deceive. Anyone who has even a cursory understanding of Abraham Lincoln knows that Dishonest Abe was a white-supremacist, white-separatist, black-colonizationist, and crony-capitalist his entire political career, up until his death; and neither he, nor the "Republican" Party, nor his defunct Whig Party, EVER proposed an amendment to abolish slavery before the war. To the contrary, his "Republican" Party, with Lincoln's blessing and support, proposed an amendment to permanently enshrine slavery into the Constitution.
This famed Lincoln scholar explained Abe's views on abolition:
"Abraham Lincoln was NOT an abolitionist."
[David Herbert Donald, "Lincoln Reconsidered: Essays on the Civil War Era." Alfred A. Knopf, 1st Ed, 1956, p.19]
Abe himself explained his views on "equal rights":
"I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and the black races. There is a physical difference between the two, which in my judgment will probably forever forbid their living together upon the footing of perfect equality, and inasmuch as it becomes a necessity that there must be a difference, I, as well as Judge Douglas, am in favor of the race to which I belong, having the superior position. I have never said anything to the contrary, but I hold that notwithstanding all this, there is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
[First Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois, August 21, 1858: Lincoln's reply, in Basler, Roy P., "The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Vol 3." Rutgers University Press, 1953, p.16]
According to Abe, the black race can have the rights mentioned in the Declaration, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as long as they do not pursue a right to be equal to the white race.
Abe also rejected the right of the black race to vote, become jurors, intermarry with whites, or to live together either socially or politically with whites:
"I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, [applause]—that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will for ever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything."
[Fourth Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Charleston, Illinois, September 18, 1858: Lincoln's speech, in Basler, Roy P., "The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Vol 3." Rutgers University Press, 1953, pp.145-146]
The last sentence reveals the true nature of the beast called Lincoln [paraphrasing]: "The negro should NOT be denied everything; ONLY those things that matter."
Aside from Lincoln's hypocrisy, the train of abuses and usurpations by the Hamiltonites against the Jeffersonians (which included those by Henry Clay) is so long that it is difficult to pin down exactly why the Southern states decided to bolt when Lincoln was nominated. Perhaps they simply found Lincoln detestable.
Mr. Kalamata
“Anyone who has even a cursory understanding of Abraham Lincoln knows that Dishonest Abe was a white-supremacist, white-separatist, black-colonizationist, and crony-capitalist his entire political career, up until his death”
Be that as it may. By Lincoln’s death 3,600,00 slaves were free persons. Within a year of his death the remaining 800,000 were free persons. Not a bad record for a white-supremacist, white-separatist, black-colonizationist.
I have long pointed out that this whole conflict was a clash between the Jeffersonian philosophy and that of Hamilton. And so it remains today.