r, size, intellect, moral
development, or social capacity the Negro was not on a par with the
white man; but that that instrument did, with tolerable distinctness,
consider "all men created equal" with certain inalienable rights, such
as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."[11] Lincoln held
that, notwithstanding all these facts, there was no reason why the
Negro was not entitled to all the natural rights embraced by the
Declaration of Independence, which are enjoyed by the white man.[12]
He interpreted the standard maxim that "all men are created equal" as
being of no practical use in effecting the separation of the thirteen
Colonies from Great Britain, and, on the contrary, contended that it
was placed in the Declaration of Independence for future use in the
attainment of democracy.

Lincoln failed to defeat Douglas for the United States Senate but he
continued to discuss the constitutionality of the restriction of
slavery. On more than one instance he limited his remarks to this
question, irrespective of the type of his audience or character of the
occasion. He persistently reiterated the doctrine that there was no
provision in the Constitution that precluded the right of the Federal
Government to control slavery in the territories.[13]

The crisis between 1850 and 1860 brought Lincoln's ideas before larger
groups. Until that year the Democrats had apparently remained united.
At the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina,
in April, 1860, there was a division.[14] The Northern Democrats,
unable to comply with the demands of the slave power that the
convention should adopt a platform requiring Congress to protect
slavery in the territories and the Northerners to acknowledge and
advocate the moral right of slavery, forced the South to the radical
position of withdrawing from the Convention. Since no candidate could
then be nominated, the Convention adjourned to Baltimore, in the hope
that time would bring about a reconciliation; but in the end the
Northern Democrats nominated Douglas, and the Southerners nominated
Breckenridge.[15]

The Republican Convention was held in Chicago in May 1860, and there
was adopted a moderate platform, with a denial of the right of
Congress to interfere with slavery in the States. The Republicans
reaffirmed the Declaration of Independence and declared that Congress
should prohibit slavery in the territories. They repudiated the Dred
Scott decision and adv