Only insomuch that the southern states, rather than outlaw slavery and then, say, continue to lease slaves from Haiti or somewhere, chose to take a stand on the issue rather than be two-faced and dishonest about it.
The meme that the north was all about abolition and the south was some kind of evil, rotten institiution needs some adjustment. The truth of the matter has long been twisted into something it is not.
It's interesting that you want to claim that Lincoln "new" about it. One article you posted says evidence indicates Lincoln stayed with Crenshaw in 1840. The other one claims that Hickory Hill wasn't started until 1842. So which was it?