Abe Lincon was a man of his time. Was he a racist by today's standards? Yes. Was he a racist by the standards of the late 1800's? No. I don't think it can ever be proven what his real thoughts on the matter are. He did what he did because he wanted the Confederacy and the Union reunited, because he knew both would fall apart without the other. His motives weren't based on racism and slavery- they were based on what he thought he had to do to save the country. Whether or not he did it by ending slavery didn't really matter to him, I don't think.