**Tl;dr: Lincoln’s role in emancipation is exaggerated as he only issued the proclamation. He did not believe in equal rights for black people, he did not actively participate in the abolition movement and actively murdered members of the Black community in America.** Lincoln is often depicted as a saint or hero for his role in emancipating the slaves in the United States in 1863. While the president was the one to issue the emancipation, his role in emancipation was not as proactive as often portrayed in history. Lincoln did not believe Black people would ever be able to have rights or assimilate into the Black community, arguing in a debate with Stephen Douglas in 1858 that [“I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and Black races”](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lincoln-issues-emancipation-proclamation). Not only was Lincoln passive in the abolition movement, not getting involved in sit-ins, boycotts, etc to support the cause, he was actively inhumane towards Black people. [In 1862, Lincoln ordered 38 Native Americans to be hanged without fair trial](https://apnews.com/article/2786870059) This sentence was ordered to Sioux fighters who were (quite understandably) fighting with white settlers over disputes regarding their own homeland. To order the death of those fighting for their own land shows Lincoln does not deserve to be celebrated as a such a hero towards the Black population. It is fair to say that Lincoln was not passionate about abolition and only issued the proclamation because he felt forced. When the war began Lincoln did not want emancipation. [However, the sheer amount of runaway slaves forced Lincoln to act.]( Political Significance of Slave Resistance | History Workshop Journal | Oxford Academic (oup.com)). Therefore, it is clear to see Lincoln was not the caring figure often presented, emancipation came to be his only option to end the war.

**TL;DR - Lincoln never claimed to be an abolitionist, and his political stances tend to be indifferent towards the abolition of slavery, yet he also contradicts himself many times and took the most steps by any president on ending the practice of slavery. There were wheels within wheels in his situation, and nothing is straightforward about Lincoln and the issue of slavery.** It's no secret that Abraham Lincoln was not the most passionate supporter of abolition here in the United States. One could've argued that issuing the Emancipation Proclamation was intended to be a complex military measure and never intended to abolish slavery. Lincoln's towering historical image makes us believe he was this moral and pure abolitionist figure, but this was never the case, but I don't think we need to discredit Lincoln because the answer is not so straightforward. There is a strong consensus that Lincoln's personal beliefs have always been against slavery and believed slaves deserved certain unalienable rights [1] [2]. However, Lincoln in politics is where things get more complicated. Lincoln himself never claimed to be an abolitionist, but he always considered himself anti-slavery politically, meaning he was against the expansion of slavery. Pro-slavery advocates around the 1850s were attempting to expand to the west along with the institution of slavery, and with the profit coming from the invention of the cotton gin and railroads, they had the mobility and financial incentive to introduce it to new states. Having an anti-slavery stance meant you could regulate the expansion of slavery and come to an agreement with the pro-slavery politicians to contain the institution without abolishing slavery [3]. I'm not justifying Lincoln indirectly supporting the institution of slavery, but considering how abolitionists were unable to compromise their noble "free them all or nothing" approach, I can understand he was trying to do this practically. Although I agree that the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation was due to fugitive slaves, it wasn't necessarily because of the number of slaves but the political dilemma. Union Generals during the American Civil War didn't have a procedure for captured slaves, some liberated them, and others treated them as contraband of war, and both of those things were problematic [4]. Lincoln couldn't do either because that would mean he would have to recognize the rebelling Confederate States as an independent nation (which would've caused a diplomatic mess) and wouldn't be able to consider them a rebellion. But if they were a rebellion, runaway and captured slaves wouldn't be returned to rebels since a law prevented that [5]. Therefore, the proclamation was issued as both a military measure to suppress a rebellion and a political statement to shift the tone of the war in the North from "stopping rebel groups" to "a war to end slavery." Another issue with Lincoln is that he can be a contradicting president because his moderate stance on slavery becomes more liberal and indistinguishable from abolitionists. For example, Earlier Lincoln opposed Black suffrage and equality (if liberated), but as president, Lincoln advocates for the right to vote and welfare and education to recently freed slaves. We can argue he was doing this for popularity, but during this period, the majority of Americans just wanted the war to end, even if it meant without freeing a single slave. Black abolitionist Fredrick Douglass explained Lincoln's contradictions in an 1876 speech, expressing he was in a complicated situation as he needed to be moderate to keep the loyalty of his people to fight the war before ending slavery: "his mission was to accomplish two things: first, to save his country from dismemberment and ruin; and, second, to free his country from slavery. Had he put the abolition of slavery before the salvation of the Union, he would have inevitably driven from him a powerful class of the American people and rendered resistance to the [Confederacy] impossible." [6] Lastly, The Emancipation Proclamation alone doesn't show Lincolns efforts, and he never had the authority to end slavery directly, but it's the small steps he takes that show how he ended slavery where he could: -March 13, 1862: Lincoln signs legislation bans returning fugitive slaves to their owners. -April 16, 1862: Lincoln signs a law banning Slavery in Washington D.C. -June 19, 1862: Prohibits slavery in U.S. territories. -January 1, 1863: Emancipation Proclamation comes into effect -June 1864: Endorsed the 13th amendment to the constitution abolishing slavery. Signed into law on January 1865 On a side note, we have to distinguish between the Black population, mostly slaves at this time, and Native Americans. Although both groups were extremely oppressed, slaves were viewed as property and part of society in their own right and eventually liberated, but Native Americans were a different issue and not the same community. Natives were in constant conflict with colonial expansion, which by today's standards, was not justified, and that's why the Dakota tribesmen situation can be a complicated dilemma. Lincoln ordered the execution of Dakota tribesmen who were involved in the murder of 400 settlers and forced hundreds of families to flee the area. This became a contentious issue, and there was public pressure to execute all 303 natives convicted, but Lincoln only ordered the execution of 38 natives. Again, I'm not defending the execution, but considering Lincoln became unpopular for not executing enough natives, received mob justice threats, and rumors circulating the Dakota were allying with the Confederacy, it seems he was trying to be as just as possible [7]. [1] Letter to Albert G. Hodges http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/hodges.htm [2] Abraham Lincoln https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln#Republican_politics_(1854%E2%80%931860) [3]Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, https://web.archive.org/web/20120216125903/http://old.nationalreview.com/books/owens200403251139.asp [4] How Slavery Really Ended in America https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/magazine/mag-03CivilWar-t.html [5] Living Contraband - Former Slaves in the Nation's Capital During the Civil War https://www.nps.gov/articles/living-contraband-former-slaves-in-the-nation-s-capital-during-the-civil-war.htm#:~:text=This%20term%20meant%20that%20once,they%20were%20classified%20as%20property.&text=Because%20of%20Butler's%20actions%2C%20a,aid%20the%20Confederacy%20in%20anyway. [6] Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln https://web.archive.org/web/20110427050628/http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?documentprint=39 [7] Abraham Lincoln - Native American policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln#Native_American_policy