Which of the following describes Abraham Lincoln's policy toward slavery at the time of his first inauguration?

A. He tried to expand the practice of slavery into the North and the West.
B. He was indifferent to the slavery issue and preferred not to address it.
C. He claimed that slavery would be protected in states where it already existed. D. He planned to use his presidential powers to eliminate slavery in the South.

B. Slavery really didn't affect him, and it might have affected his chances of being elected if you took one side over another. The only reason he freed the slaves was to end the war, he counted them as war contraband

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emilyadalex emilyadalex · Answer 2 · 2019-03-29T17:08:40+01:00

C. He claimed that slavery would be protected in states where it already existed.

At the moment of Lincoln' inauguration speech, he was aware of the marked division between the southern and northern states due to the slavery issue, and that many Southern people feared that their property, their peace and personal security were to be endangered during his term in Office, therefore, he intended to soothe those fears throughout the speech, one of his first declarations was the following:

I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.

Throughout the speech, Lincoln also encourage people to conform to and abide by the laws of the Constitution (such as the free will of states to institute slavery), however, it also addressed people's constitutional right to amend the Constitution and to change the government whenever they deemed it necessary.

In short, Lincoln did not intend to threaten the institution of slavery in the states where it existed, he preferred to protect it, however, he did not promote slavery in the northern states either. He aimed to abide by the rules already established, mainly because of the hostility that existed in the nation.