[PeaRidge]

You are changing the meaning of the point: "Or could it have been because Lincoln knew he did not have the authority to interfere with it,"

Pure speculation and a total misrepresentation of the commentary. You are commenting on a point that was not being made, i.e. you are using red herrings.

The point of the sentence was that the ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION SHOULD NOT BE DISTURBED. That was an appeal to the financial issues facing Southern states, not the issue of slavery in and of itself.

[Non-Sequitur]

Pure speculation and a total misrepresentation of the commentary.

Absolute nonsense. Lincoln could not interfere with slavery where it existed and he knew that. Anyone with half a brain could see that. Ending slavery where it existed would require a Constitutional amendment, a total impossibility. But halting the expansion was something the government could do by challenging the Dred Scott decision and halting slavery in the territories. And Lincoln knew that, too.

The point of the sentence was that the ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION SHOULD NOT BE DISTURBED

Now who's engaging in pure speculation and total misrepresentation?