Abraham Lincoln and His Anti-Slavery Views

Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 in Larue County, Kentucky to his parents Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. He was raised in a one room log cabin, with dirt floors. While both his parents were nearly illiterate, they encouraged Abe to learn how to read and write. At seven, his family moved to the frontier of Indiana and his father built a very humble home. When Lincoln was just nine years old, my mother passed away. But, I did not allow for this hardship to control the outcome of his life. While his formal education was limited, he took it upon myself to excel in all aspects of academics. He even had many odd jobs contributing to his overall success, he worked as a shopkeeper, a postmaster, and eventually a general store owner. 
In 1832, Lincoln was elected captain of the Black Hawk War, volunteering to lead a platoon of men to fight the Indians. In 1834, Lincoln ran for State Legislature and was elected. He repeatedly ran, and was elected for this position in the following years of 1836, 1838, and 1840. He left office in 1841, but returned in 1846 to win the Whig nomination for a seat from the Illinois seventh congressional district to the U.S. House of Representatives. Ten days after he was elected to this position, the war with Mexico broke out. Lincoln voiced his opposition to the war, which was considered a very bold move. Eventually, he refocused his goals back to law. Lincoln single handedly taught himself law, and successfully became a lawyer in the year 1837. 
In 1856, Lincoln left the Whig party, and joined the Republican party, armed with others who were against the idea of slavery. They were dedicated to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the prevention of westward expansion of slavery. Lincoln boldly spoke out about his opinion of slavery violating the Constuition. He believed that the existence of slavery went against the views of our Founding Fathers. Although he contended that there existed no constitutional way of interfering with slavery where it presently existed, he expressed beliefs that it should not be allowed to expand westward. 
When Lincoln was elected president in the year 1860, his main goal was to end slavery. He once stated “If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.” This quote went on to support his passion for ending slavery. In 1862, three years into the Civil War, Lincoln used his role as Commander in Chief to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order he issued, effective Jan. 1, 1863. This Proclamation would free all slaves. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." The proclamation issued also allowed for the acceptance of black men into the Union army, allowing the people who were once held captive to fight back against supporters of their imprisonment. While this was his goal, it also had other benefits. This directly caused the South to have a drastic lack of labor and manpower, which aided in keeping the South in the Union. Lincoln also heavily supported the 13th Amendment, which forever abolished slavery. This amendment was passed in April of 1864, and ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. He insisted and pushed for the installment of the 13th Amendment, knowing that once it was written as an Amendment to the Constitution, it would have to be taken seriously. While Lincoln knew this would not be immensely popular, he stood by my opinion knowing it was right. A quote that he became known for was, “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it," and that is something he wholeheartedly believed.