James W. Crawford, Minister Emeritus of Boston's Old South Church, discusses how the concept of liberty and destiny so tied in with the church's identity, flavored the congregation's stance on slavery and how Lincoln's influence provided inspiration during the Civil War.

Boston's Old South Meeting House has a long connection with abolition, reaching back to the 1700 publication of New England's first anti-slavery tract by prominent congregation member Samuel Sewall. But by the 1850s, Old South, known for its role in the fight for American independence, was split on the question of how to achieve the abolition of slavery.