[GeronL]

The north didn't treat African-Americans all that much better than the South. Oh and what about the thousands of blacks who also owned slaves?

What Lincoln did ended up giving the left the excuse and precedent they needed to have the Feds take over everything.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

The north didn't treat African-Americans all that much better than the South. Oh and what about the thousands of blacks who also owned slaves?

Neither of those points has any bearing on the rectitude of slavery as it existed at the time in question or the desirability of eliminating it or preventing its expansion.

[Californiajones]

You may be right about how individual blacks were treated by Northerners etc., however Lincoln believed, and stated as such, that the war was essentially over the sin and stain of slavery -- as it stained the promise of the Declaration that all men are created equal.

Lincoln believed that the blood shed in the Civil War was just due because of the terrible moral wrong of slavery.