These comments come during the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858. Douglas appealed to racial prejudices throughout the seven debates and painted Lincoln as an advocate of equality among the races, even insinuating that Lincoln believed there was nothing wrong with interracial marriage. At Charleston, IL, Lincoln responded to the charges by saying:

"I do not understand that because I do not want a negro woman for a slave I must necessarily want her for a wife. [Cheers and laughter.] My understanding is that I can just let her alone. I am now in my fiftieth year, and I certainly never have had a black woman for either a slave or a wife. So it seems to me quite possible for us to get along without making either slaves or wives of negroes."

Would Alexander Stephens agree to abide by that statement? Certainly not.

To say that Lincoln and Stephens shared the same views even in 1858 is simply wrong. Stephens was a slave owner, but Lincoln was not. Stephens wanted slavery to expand across the continent, while Lincoln vowed to fight the expansion of slavery.

Moreover, Lincoln's racial views were not static. By 1860, Stephens said the Confederacy was built upon the ideal that all men were not created equal. By 1863, Lincoln said just the opposite. The "new birth of freedom" that he spoke about included African Americans. By 1865 he advocated voting rights for African Americans.