Abraham Lincoln was the president responsible for the end of slavery following the Civil War. At first though, it was kind of unclear how he stood on the issue. In some cases it seemed as he wanted nothing more than to preserve the union and had no feelings toward the freeing of slaves. In other cases, it seemed as if he wanted to free the slaves and wanted equal rights for all Americans. The Emancipation Proclamation and a quote Lincoln said in 1958 seem to be contradictory, but they are actually alike. In both of these articles, he says that he never wanted to make the rights equal.
             The Emancipation Proclamation is a document released in 1862 stating that all slaves in the Southern states, except the "boarder states" were free. Lincoln made this speech for three reasons. One of these reasons was to keep the boarder states from rebelling. If Lincoln had made slavery illegal in all states, then the boarder states would have rebelled and seceded as well and then the South would be more powerful in the war. A second reason that Lincoln gave this speech was so there was a moral purpose for the war. Giving this speech showed the people in the North that Lincoln had tried to free the slaves and now that for moral purposes we had to go to war. A third reason for this speech was to prevent England from seeing the South as a separate, independent country. If England were to see them as a separate country, they could eventually go to war against the North. Also, the speech showed England that there was going to be a civil war and for the time being, stated that America was not two separate countries.
             In a quote made by Abraham Lincoln he says "I am not, nor ever been, in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black values." This quote never says that he does not want to free the slaves, only that he isn't aiming for equal rights. He may want all slaves to be freedm
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