<P> Many of Lincoln's public anti-slavery sentiments were presented in the seven Lincoln--Douglas debates of 1858 against his opponent, Stephen Douglas, during Lincoln's unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the U.S. Senate (which was decided by the Illinois legislature). Douglas advocated "popular sovereignty" and self - government, which would give the citizens of a territory the right to decide if slavery would be legal there . Douglas criticized Lincoln as being inconsistent, saying he altered his message and position on slavery and on the political rights of freed blacks in order to appeal to the audience before him, as northern Illinois was more hostile to slavery than southern Illinois . </P> <P> Lincoln stated that Negroes had the rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" in the first of the Lincoln--Douglas debates . Publicly, Lincoln said he was not advocating Negro suffrage in his speech in Columbus, Ohio on September 16, 1859 . </P> <P> This might have been a strategy speech used to gain voters, as Douglas had accused Lincoln of favoring negroes too much as well . </P> <P> A fragment from Lincoln dated October 1, 1858, refuting theological arguments by Frederick A. Ross in favor of slavery, reads in part, "As a good thing, slavery is strikingly perculiar (sic), in this, that it is the only good thing which no man ever seeks the good of, for himself . Nonsense! Wolves devouring lambs, not because it is good for their own greedy maws, but because it is good for the lambs!!!" </P>

Was there some change in the justification of the civil war between 1860 and 1903