“”In New Orleans, for the first time Lincoln beheld the true horrors of human slavery,” wrote Mr. Lincoln’s legal colleague, William H. Herndon. “Agains[t] this inhumanity his sense of right and justice rebelled, and his mind and conscience were awaked to a realization of what he had often heard and read.” Herndon wrote from Hanks’ memories: “One morning in their rambles over the city the trio passed a slave auction. A vigorous and comely MULATTO girl was being sold. She underwent a thorough examination at the hands of the bidders; they pinched her flesh and made her trot up and down the room like a horse, to show how she moved, and in order, as the auctioneer said, that ‘bidders might satisfy themselves’ whether the article they were offering to buy was sound or not. The whole thing was so revolting that Lincoln moved away from the scene with a deep feeling of ‘unconquerable hate.’ Bidding his companions follow him he said, ‘By God, boys, let’s get away from this. If ever I get a chance to hit that thing [meaning slavery], I’ll hit it hard.” This incident was furnished me in 1865, by John Hanks. I have also heard Mr. Lincoln refer to it himself.”

From the above it can be seen that it wasn’t slavery as such that sorely offended “The Great Emancipator,” but that an obviously part white person was being sold as a slave. He later as president, in his first inaugural speech, endorsed the Permanent Slavery Amendment to the US Constitution, which had passed the Congress by over 66%. If the Southern States had wanted slavery protected forever, then all
they would have had to do is return to the Union and ratify this proposed constitutional amendment.

But they seceded because of the 40% import duty that had just been passed by Congress. The South did over 80% of the import-export business, so therefore would have paid near 4/5 of all import duties. The Charleston Harbor duty collection fort (Sumter) and the like fort in Pensacola were the only places that Lincoln threatened to invade over.

The shots fired at Fort Sumter were due to the US Navy’s attempt to reinforce Sumter under the ruse that the ships were bringing nothing but food and medical supplies. But a Southern spy let the Southerners know that the ships were bringing troops and ammunition, not just food and medical supplies.

Odd that none of this is mentioned in the official history books. If you win the war, you get to write the history.