Abraham Lincoln’s feelings about slavery have kept historians busy for more than 150 years, as each tried to research, interpret, and determine the truth. However, most of us agree that the truth is as complex as we are as individuals. Lincoln the man, with strong beliefs about individual worth and unlimited possibilities to do “good,” was clear in his belief that slavery was wrong. However, Lincoln the president/political leader knew that his own individual thoughts on the “strange institution” had to be tempered by the needs of the citizens and his most important quest, saving the Union.

For those who criticized Lincoln as a “milquetoast” abolitionist, the facts speak clearly. The young congressman identified with the Free Soil Party and opposed the spread of slavery into the new territories and potential states. Abolition brought questions for Lincoln such as:

• Once freed with an act of Congress, what then?
• Beginning with few skills, no land, and few opportunities for financial independence, how would those freed survive?

He struggled with the complexities of the issue. He opposed slavery as a moral wrong and yet denounced racial equality in politics during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. While the Southern states viewed his election as the death knell for slavery, he had actually promised to uphold the institution where it was legally within the guidelines of the Constitution.

So, what did he believe?

He believed that the U.S. Constitution was the supreme law of the land and that the Rule of Law separated the republic from those countries and governments that ruled based on the changing winds of public opinion or, even more suspicious, the influence of those wealthy “lords” and business leaders. Lincoln walked a tightrope, attempting to lead with an understanding that the four slaveholding border states might bolt into the Confederate camp with any forceful abolition action. At the same, he had to balance the influence of the Northern Democrats who did not see the war’s objective as the abolition of slavery with the Republicans who demanded that he, the commander-in-chief, immediately declare an end to slavery.

The situation was compounded by the influx of slaves slipping away from the South and traveling north for freedom. Was the president to openly encourage slave rebellion in the South, or simply allow the movement to occur organically? Would the abolition of slavery keep England or France from supporting the Confederacy? Would that proclamation lose Northern support for Lincoln’s goals? The path was unclear.

President Lincoln needed to find a constitutional solution to slavery, and that solution required a Union military victory and the patience to wait for the right moment.

By July 1862, the president was ready to take the first step; he told his cabinet that he would issue an Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the states in rebellion. Notice there was no mention of freeing slaves in the border states so necessary to Union victory. That wording was carefully constructed by Lincoln, once again walking the tightrope.

His cabinet convinced him that a major Union victory was necessary so that Lincoln did not seem to be acting out of desperation. After the battle of Antietam in September 1862, he issued a preliminary statement that if the states in rebellion did not cease their hostilities by January 1, 1863, he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

It is important to pause for a moment and consider the magnitude of the action the president would take on January 1. With his signature on the Emancipation Proclamation, he stepped beyond any presidential action taken since George Washington had raised his hand to take the first oath as president.

Lincoln, ever the eloquent “backwoods, log-splinting man of the people,” knew how to use words to touch hearts. While many did not agree with his decision, they could not deny his ability to explain the need for action. Speaking to Congress in December 1862, he explained, “By giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free — honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”

I admit that I shivered as I wrote those words — “the last best hope of earth.” Lincoln understood and articulated what this republic meant — this dream of liberty, equality, and justice for which men and women had fought since long before the first shots had been fired at Lexington and Concord. By uttering those words, he elevated the Union’s position; and while his ultimate action on January 1, 1863, was controversial, he had just tied freedom for one to freedom for all.

It was a beginning that would ultimately be confirmed by a constitutional amendment — actually, three amendments — that demonstrated Lincoln’s understanding that our Constitution reigns supreme. While he would not live to see their ratification, his spirit hovered close.