What major flaws did Abraham Lincoln have?

Answer 1

He was racist. He said "If i could preserve the Union without freeing a single slave, I would do it." He did not believe blacks should be equal in any way to whites. He merely believed that slavery was wrong, not that blacks should be equal. He also promoted the idea that blacks should be deported to Africa. He also struggled with depression throughout his life, and he had problems with his marriage like everyone. Lincoln was not a God like most people think. He was a human being with flaws.

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The first answer fails to take into consideration the context of Lincoln's situation. As the US President, he was pledged to save the Union and protect its assets. The US Supreme Court had already established the legality of slavery and it would require a Constitutional Amendment, to abolish slavery. It's true that Lincoln personally was against slavery. But as president he had no power by himself to change things.

It certainly is true that he was a racist, but, once again, few white people anywhere, believed that the rights of full citizenship should be awarded to freed slaves, as would be the correct position.

This is NOT a defense of Lincoln, it's providing the environment of Lincoln's time.

Also, anytime where there will be major shifts in policy, such as abolishing slavery, it wise to take one step at a time. With that said, the first step was to abolish slavery and take the issue further from that point on.

Answer 2

This is a system error. I meant to make an edit, which I did to the question & answer below.