why did lincoln abolish slavery
In September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in areas that were still in rebellion against the Union. This measure opened the issue of what to do about slavery in border states that had not seceded or in areas that had been captured by the Union before the proclamation. In 1864, an amendment abolishing slavery passed the U.S. Senate but died in the House as Democrats rallied in the name of statesâ rights.
Lincoln was morally opposed to slavery and politically opposed to any expansion of it. On October 16, 1854, in his  Peoria Speech , Lincoln declared his opposition to slavery, which he repeated in his route to presidency.