Lincoln was not an abolitionist. He and his party were aimed at reversing Dred Scott by keeping slavery out of the territories and preventing its re-establishment in states that had abolished it. This quarantine of slavery was a compromise between the ardent pro-slavery position of the Deep South and the extreme abolitionist position from Ohio and New England that had gone mainstream after the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852.
Lincoln and the Republicans stood squarely in the middle, although that turned out to be too much with the Deep South.
Interesting thoughts about this. Thank you.
I watched conservatives refuse to compromise on “gay rights” issues by meeting needs.
I saw no reason why any two adults, gay or straight, could not form a legal compact with legal rights to take care of each other - two widows for instance who are trusted friends. It would have given both rights that were not a marriage, but dealt with many similar issues as they tried to care for each other. It would have been short of marriage, but would have met needs and taken away the argument of gays...
But when this wasn’t pursued, we ended with full legal gay marriage.
Same thing shaping up on abortion.