4 ms·

"I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do s

"I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." Damn, Lincoln! Makes me think we need those statues of Jefferson Davis (upside-down, for my taste) -- because now it seems clear that if the south hadn't seceded, emancipation would not have happened for decades if at all

hef19898 6y ago
Yeah, seems the Confederacy was the in itself the cause of tis own downfall. Edit: As a what-if question, where would the US have stood in that case during the two World Wars?
- dr_dshiv 6y ago
  It is terrifying to think about what present day slavery would look like if it had been further enshrined as a right of the southern states. Or, if Lincoln had simply allowed succession.
  - vimy 6y ago
    https://youtu.be/Uyz-AyAOLek https://youtu.be/Uyz-AyAOLek From: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389828/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389828/
082349872349872 6y ago
The Brazilian example suggests decades: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Brazil#The_end_of_slavery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Brazil#The_end_of_s... (but I have to admit my knowledge of Brasil doesn't extend much past Xuxa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OxJKFEofL0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OxJKFEofL0 )
mpalmer 6y ago
Not defending Lincoln as an abolitionist; he definitely was not. But the statement was couched pretty heavily in what he was legally allowed to do as President. He seems extremely careful not to take a position that would inflame one side over the other - he calls attention to the process for making laws and amending the Constitution but takes care to mention he doesn't have any amendments he would put forward himself. Difficult position to be in for a president. There was no quick, legal path to the righteous thing - free all enslaved people.
anonms-coward 6y ago
To be fair, it is highly likely he was lying and was saying that just to ensure he could win the election. A modern example would be Obama saying in 2008 that he wasn't in favour of same sex marriage. Source:https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2012/may/11/barack-obama/president-barack-obamas-shift-gay-marriage/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2012/may/11/barack-oba... There are many other sources. Biden was saying the same thing in 2008.
- mastax 6y ago
  This is the inaugural address. He'd already won the election. It's certainly possible he was still lying, but I'd think the smarter thing to do would be to not talk about it for a while so it'd be less obvious when he changed his position.
anonu 6y ago
Interesting to read that Lincoln had to state this explicitly. I often think of the Civil War being about slavery - but that became a reason later on.
- mastax 6y ago
  The civil war was absolutely about slavery, judging by the rhetoric of the seceding states[0] and the CSA government[1]. The emancipation of slaves was not a stated goal of the US government but the CSA didn't believe that and they ended up being right with the emancipation proclamation. [0]: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/declarati... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone_Speech https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone_Speech

hef19898 6y ago

Yeah, seems the Confederacy was the in itself the cause of tis own downfall. Edit: As a what-if question, where would the US have stood in that case during the two World Wars?

dr_dshiv 6y ago
It is terrifying to think about what present day slavery would look like if it had been further enshrined as a right of the southern states. Or, if Lincoln had simply allowed succession.
- vimy 6y ago
  https://youtu.be/Uyz-AyAOLek https://youtu.be/Uyz-AyAOLek From: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389828/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389828/

082349872349872 6y ago

The Brazilian example suggests decades: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Brazil#The_end_of_slavery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Brazil#The_end_of_s... (but I have to admit my knowledge of Brasil doesn't extend much past Xuxa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OxJKFEofL0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OxJKFEofL0 )

mpalmer 6y ago

Not defending Lincoln as an abolitionist; he definitely was not. But the statement was couched pretty heavily in what he was legally allowed to do as President. He seems extremely careful not to take a position that would inflame one side over the other - he calls attention to the process for making laws and amending the Constitution but takes care to mention he doesn't have any amendments he would put forward himself. Difficult position to be in for a president. There was no quick, legal path to the righteous thing - free all enslaved people.

anonms-coward 6y ago

To be fair, it is highly likely he was lying and was saying that just to ensure he could win the election. A modern example would be Obama saying in 2008 that he wasn't in favour of same sex marriage. Source:https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2012/may/11/barack-obama/president-barack-obamas-shift-gay-marriage/ https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2012/may/11/barack-oba... There are many other sources. Biden was saying the same thing in 2008.

mastax 6y ago
This is the inaugural address. He'd already won the election. It's certainly possible he was still lying, but I'd think the smarter thing to do would be to not talk about it for a while so it'd be less obvious when he changed his position.

anonu 6y ago

Interesting to read that Lincoln had to state this explicitly. I often think of the Civil War being about slavery - but that became a reason later on.

mastax 6y ago
The civil war was absolutely about slavery, judging by the rhetoric of the seceding states[0] and the CSA government[1]. The emancipation of slaves was not a stated goal of the US government but the CSA didn't believe that and they ended up being right with the emancipation proclamation. [0]: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/declarati... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone_Speech https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone_Speech