[DiogenesLamp]

You do have a seeming need to justify what Lincoln did by pointing fingers at the Confederates. Why cannot his actions be evaluated on their own basis without having to interject "they were just as bad" in order to make Lincoln's actions seem respectable?

Hiding behind the Confederates is just a way for you to dodge the truth. Lincoln behaved like a tyrant.

[BroJoeK]

DiogenesLamp: "You do have a seeming need to justify what Lincoln did by pointing fingers at the Confederates.
Why cannot his actions be evaluated on their own basis without having to interject 'they were just as bad' in order to make Lincoln's actions seem respectable? "

No, but your problem here is you wish to apply today's standards to Lincoln's Union without applying those same standards to Davis' Confederacy.
Why is that?

Indeed, you insist that Davis be judged by no standards except his own, while Lincoln must be condemned by whatever cockamamie nonsense you can devise.

The important fact is that in all early phases Confederates were the aggressors and Union authorities merely responded with the goals of first preserving the Union and in due time replacing the extant system of chattel bondage with something more consistent to our declared 1776 ideals.