Questions about Democrat and Republican parties during the Civil War...

Eljay

Cadet
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
I'm don't have deep knowledge about the Civil War, and so I turn to you all with questions. I realize Lincoln's platform was not to free slaves and he stated so in his first inaugural address, and emancipation of slaves has always been a strategy in war, and yet Republicans are credited "by some" for being intent on freeing slaves just for the ethics of it and Democrats demeaned for wanting blacks to remain slaves. I want to know from you if it was really that simple.

1) How much difference was there between the Republican and Democrat parties when it came to their feelings about blacks? Did the Republicans actually like them and Democrats did not, or was it more a matter of their feelings over slavery of blacks?

2) Besides the efforts (especially Lincoln's work) to forbid slavery in new territories and some states, did the Republican party in general actually work to end slavery totally before the Civil War? Did the Democrat party as a whole work to keep slavery? How much of it was influenced by Southern Democrats? Did Northern Democrats work to keep slavery?

3) After the Civil War, what became of the Democrat party and its views of black slavery? Did they shed some of those feelings? Did they loose Southern representatives with strong feelings about that? Where they replace with more moderates?

4) What is your feelings (with your knowledge of history) on the validity in the lawsuit against today's Democrat party for crimes against blacks in regards to slavery? (See story about lawsuit.)

No, I'm not writing a paper for school. =) This is just for my own edification. Thanks for your comments.
 
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