Final answer:
Lincoln refused to support any man or compromise that would allow the extension of slavery into new territories, opposed the Crittenden Compromise, and held onto the principle of no governance without consent, equating unequal control to despotism.
Step-by-step explanation:
Abraham Lincoln made it clear that he could not bring himself to support a man or a compromise that would extend the institution of slavery into new territories or states. Despite various proposals for compromise, such as the Crittenden Compromise which aimed to extend the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific, Lincoln remained steadfast in his principles.
Lincoln also firmly opposed Stephen Douglas’s views during the Illinois Senate race. While Douglas suggested that the Founding Fathers never intended to make blacks equal citizens, Lincoln countered these arguments by focusing on his belief against the dehumanization of blacks, though he was not in favor of full political and social equality at the time. Central to Lincoln's ethos was the notion that no one has the right to govern another without that other's consent, equating such control to despotism.