"As I said before, in 1860 only a small population of radical abolitionists supported a sweeping national ban against slavery. Following events so dramatically changed American perceptions that by 1865---in only 5 years---the federal government (and most northerners) was pushing an emancipation amendment. This transition was not "inexcusably" slow, but remarkably swift."

After further thought I totally disagree with this statement. Our subject is the Congress of the United States in 61-65, not the general public. The overwhelming majority in Congress came from slave-free states or states that had abolished the institution. Men who knew the ways of the world, and that in Europe the abolishment of slavery was popular. Many of these men were put into office by abolitionist groups whose goal was to have a nation free of slavery. Your thesis is an assumption is these Congresses would not have ever been exposed to the idea on a nation wide ban on salvery, therefore they never would have thought of proposing it, until sometime around 1865. My thought is they were well exposed to the idea, had been for nearly thirty of more years, and they clearly had debated it, and could have proposed ended slavery nationwide, and did, well before 1865.

You assumption would mean that these Northern men, of states that had abolished slavery, had some mental ability or disability to block out ideas on a nation wide ban on slavery from their thought prossess while performing their duties in Congress. I would think this impossible, that they certain discussed the idea but never put it into motion for whatever motive until 1865. With the power to abolish slavery in their hands early on, they missed their opportunity many times, keeping slaves in bondage much longer than needed.

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David Upton