Lincoln on Slavery

[LincolnMan]

From Lincoln On Race & Slavery by Henry Louis Gates Jr.:

"...what is clear is that Lincoln hated slavery, not only because of its brutality and inhumanity, but first and foremost because it constituted the theft of another person's labor-both the labor of the slave and that of the white men who had, in effect, to compete disadvantageously in the marketplace with slave labor-and he was exceptionally clear and forceful about saying so, as early as 1854. Indeed, Lincoln's central opposition to slavery seems to have been deeply rooted in this economic premise, rather than only or primarily stemming from humanitarian grounds."