To what extent was Lincoln a mandate to abolish slavery?

The South feared that their rights to slavery were in jeopardy with the election of Republican, Abraham Lincoln. However, the election of Lincoln was not a mandate for the abolition of slavery in the United States. Lincoln's primary platform while running for president was to stop the spread of slavery, not to abolish it. His Republican principles were the foundation for his disapproval of slavery. However, Lincoln realized that slavery was protected by the constitution …

…mandate for the abolition of slavery, he would have needed his whole campaign to revolve around the emancipation of the slaves. Lincoln also would have then needed a majority win in both the popular votes and in the electoral college. The outcome of Lincoln's election was not a mandate to abolish slavery but merely a result of Lincoln having overwhelming support from the northern states and the majority of the votes from the Electoral College.