I think I was most effected by this quote, not from the mentioning of compensation for the slaves.

But there are two sides to that question. One is ours, the other, the southern side; and those people are just as honest and conscientious in their opinion as we are in ours. They think they have a moral and legal right to their slaves, and until very recently the North has been of the same opinion. For two hundred years the whole country has admitted it and regarded and treated the slaves as property. Now, does the mere fact that the North has come suddenly to a contrary opinion give us the right to take the slaves from their owners without compensation?

Unfortunately, I have read communications by and between Lincoln and his political advisors and staff that brought up this proposition in the days prior to Ft. Sumter, but as a "political" decision and not to inflame the "Radical" wing of the Republican party, he refused a meeting with a Southern group and did not put forward even a hint of this proposal. I believe my reading of these communications of Lincoln's choice between political power and the future of the Republican party versus a war between the North and South did more to lessen my opinion of him than anything else.

What I find most interesting in the quote above, is his words regarding the "rightness" of the opposing positions. He clearly states that he believes the South is "just as honest and conscientious in their opinion as we are in ours." I wonder if BB and Union Power are so magnanimous in their views of the contending positions?

For two hundred years the whole country has admitted it and regarded and treated the slaves as property. Now, does the mere fact that the North has come suddenly to a contrary opinion give us the right to take the slaves from their owners without compensation?

If Lincoln would have been the "statesman" that he has been made out to be, he would have made the offer to the Southerners or some other compromise that might have been distasteful to his radicals and let the chips fall where they may. I believe his choice of politics over peace was the great mistake in his career and will forever cause me to hold him in low regard as the basest of politicians.

Jim