USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Lincoln began his public career by claiming that he was “antislavery”–against slavery’s expansion, but not calling for immediate emancipation. However, the man who began as “antislavery” eventually issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in those states that were in rebellion.

Detailed explanation-2: -Lincoln strongly believed slavery was “a great evil.” He did not, however, join with the small minority of Northern abolitionists who wanted to outlaw slavery immediately. Lincoln preferred to emancipate the slaves gradually by compensating their owners with federal funds.

Detailed explanation-3: -16, 1854. On this day in 1854, Abraham Lincoln, as a congressional candidate from Illinois, spoke out against the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which Congress had passed five months earlier. In his speech, the future president outlined his views on slavery, which he called “immoral.”

Detailed explanation-4: -The debates, each three hours long, were convened in Ottawa (August 21), Freeport (August 27), Jonesboro (September 15), Charleston (September 18), Galesburg (October 7), Quincy (October 13), and Alton (October 15).