Most of the world sees New York City as a radically progressive melting pot of acceptance, free of crime where everyone loves their brothers and sisters. OK, that might be a tad romantic, but some might be surprised to find just how different the city was in its youth. In 1990, the discovery of an African burial ground in southern Manhattan prompted new research into the city’s position on slavery. This past Friday, the New York Historical Society opened “New York Divided” (the sequel to its previous exhibit, “Slavery in New York”), which chronicles the history of New York from the abolition of slavery in 1827 until the end of the Civil War in 1865. Evidently, during the 19th century, Democrats defended slavery while Republicans supported its abolition—a marked change from contemporary politics, which has approximately 90 percent of African Americans voting Democrat. Republican President Abraham Lincoln, who—for those who flunked kindergarten—ultimately passed the Emancipation Proclamation, never won more than 35 percent of the city’s vote, most likely due to the profit New Yorkers derived from the slave-driven cotton trade. Surrendering morals for profit? Maybe things haven’t changed that much after all.