Lincoln's Position
President Lincoln's positions were these:
- He disapproved of the joint attack on the French in Mexico.
- He wished for "the voluntary abolition of slavery" by the southern states.
- He refused to consent to any treaty with the Confederate government.
- After their surrender, he was in favor of re-admitting representatives of the Southern States to Congress.
- He favored the payment by the Federal Government of a fair indemnity to the former slaveholders, that is payment to the ex-owners for the freed slaves.
- He would not weaken the Emancipation Proclamation.
- The complete restoration of the Union must be the final result of the war, or the war would continue to be fought.
The Confederates insisted on independence, and no agreement was reached.
Read more about this topic: Hampton Roads Conference
Famous quotes containing the words lincoln and/or position:
“In using the strong hand, as now compelled to do, the government has a difficult duty to perform. At the very best, it will by turns do both too little and too much. It can properly have no motive of revenge, no purpose to punish merely for punishment’s sake. While we must, by all available means, prevent the overthrow of the government, we should avoid planting and cultivating too many thorns in the bosom of society.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
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—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)