Abraham Lincoln: Struggle for Union and Emancipation

Abraham Lincoln's first ultimate goal was to save the United States of America, and keep it intact. Lincoln would also eventually save the Union, at any cost. He made sure that he pronounced he did not want conflict, unless the South provoked such conflict. Lincoln declared secession as "impractical" because theoretically, the two could not separate. He also claimed also that not only theoretically, but geographically, the two could not be separated. Lincoln was obligated to declare he was not fighting to free the blacks. He repeated his reasoning for war was to not abolish slavery, but to completely save the Union. Thus, the war had not begun due to slave soil and free soil, but it was a war for the Union, with slaveholders on both sides, and proslavery supporters in the North. In Lincoln's letter to Horace Greeley in 1862, Lincoln stated he believed the Union could be saved without destroying slavery. To calm the northern anti-slavery forces, Lincoln used his constitutional powers to issue what is known as the Emancipation Proclamation, which slowly freed slaves who presided in rebellious states, but he did not issue the Emancipation to the border states, which he did to ultimately keep them from succeeding from the Union. These Border States were important to winning the war, because of their location and population.

Lincoln's ultimate goal was to fully preserve the Union, as well as the United States. Lincoln stated in his Emancipation Proclamation that the nation should have a new birth under freedom (Document C). This is not a direct representation the whole process of abolishing slavery but it does show some significance in the construction of the nation and the freeing of the slaves, only in rebellious states. More so Lincoln's proclamation was to direct the Union to a preserved state, as to protect it from collapsing, and not to the freeing of slaves. Lincoln believed his only duty was to listen to his people and to restore improve the original state of the Union. His country, essentially, was his main and top priority. He of course wished liberally that all men could be free.

Lincoln often discussed the slow process of freeing the slaves and preserving each state that was possible of freeing slaves (Document A). He wanted to submit to a common decree that the United State would compensate for inconveniences both financial and physical, if that state would slowly abolish slavery. In doing this Lincoln was trying to accommodate both his top priority, which is preserving the Union and keeping the United States intact, as well as free the slaves of each state. This act of slowly abolishing slavery, could be either detrimental, or reconstruction. Freeing the slaves would greatly improve the preservation of that state in which participated in the abolishment of slavery. Thus we believe from the following that Lincoln was less concerned about freeing the slaves, as he was aware that it was an

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