US President Abraham Lincoln states that he did not fight the Civil War over slavery

[A letter from Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley (editor of the New-York Tribune), in which Lincoln states that he did not go to war over the issue of slavery, but rather in order to save the Union (i.e. the United States of America). Lincoln’s letter was written in reply to an editorial by Greeley.] Executive […]

US President Abraham Lincoln proposes setting up a colony of American Blacks in Central America

[Notes of a meeting between Abraham Lincoln and a deputation of Negro leaders, in 1862, regarding the possibility of creating a colony of American Blacks in Central America.] COLONIZATION. It was yet uncertain whether one result of the war would be the setting free of all the slaves in the country; but it was plain […]

US President Abraham Lincoln’s first State of the Union address, 3 December 1861

[An extract from Abraham Lincoln’s first State of the Union address, in which he proposes sending American Blacks to an overseas colony.] Under and by virtue of the act of Congress entitled “An act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes,” approved August 6, 1861, the legal claims of certain persons to the labor and […]

US President Abraham Lincoln speaks out against racial equality

[An extract from Abraham Lincoln’s opening speech in a debate between him and Stephen A. Douglas during the 1858 campaign in Illinois for the US Senate (Lincoln was the Republican Party candidate, whilst Douglas was the Democratic Party candidate). Lincoln wanted to make it clear that he was not an outright abolitionist (he was fighting […]

US President Abraham Lincoln advocates freeing the slaves and sending them to Africa

[An extract from Abraham Lincoln’s speech of 16 October 1854, in which he opposes a law (designed by Senator Stephen A. Douglas) that would enable the new US territories of Kansas and Nebraska to vote on whether or not slavery would be allowed within their boundaries. As an opponent of slavery, Lincoln had consistently opposed […]