Lincoln often referred to the necessity of the 'Southern Compromise' on the slavery issue that, in in his eyes, had made the United States Constitution an imperfect 'silver frame' for the 'golden apple' portrait of equality for all men as visioned within the Declaration of Independence.

"It may be argued that there are certain conditions that make necessities and impose them upon us, and to the extent that a necessity is imposed upon a man he must submit to it. I think that was the condition in which we found ourselves when we established this government.
We had slavery among us, we could not get our constitution unless we permitted them to remain in slavery, we could not secure the good we did secure if we grasped for more, and having by necessity submitted to that much, it does not destroy the principle that is the charter of our liberties. Let that charter stand as our standard.

"The Savior, I suppose, did not expect that any human creature could be perfect as the Father in Heaven; but He said, 'As your Father in Heaven is perfect, be ye also perfect.' He set that up as a standard, and he who did most towards reaching that standard, attained the highest degree of moral perfection.
So I say in relation to the principle that all men are created equal, let it be as nearly reached as we can."