Lincoln believed that the national faith, the national confidence, [and] the national feeling of brotherhood (1, 71) within the Union could be restored if this separation could be resolved, but as long as the Union continued to survive he would not make any significant attempts to abolish slavery. Without the full support of the President of the United States, blacks in this nation could not expect to be treated as equals any time in the near future. Although he did pronounce that there is no reason in the world why the Negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence (2), for some reason Lincoln would not eradicate slavery entirely.