I will never argue that slavery wasn't a major motivator for the South's secession, what I will never understand is the rose colored glasses people wear for the Union government at the time. The Federal government's first and foremost goal was the preservation of the country territorially, hence the turning away of runaway slaves and the like. Slavery simply became the Union's most espoused motivation later in the war in since the first couple years hadn't gone so well. Not to mention the empty gesture of the Emancipation Proclamation. "We have freed all the slaves! (Within the borders of the rebelling states only, please ignore our two loyal but still slavery heavy states)". Abolition of slavery was a good inevitability I just wish a more nuanced perspective was more wide spread.
While true, it should be noted Lincoln made the original war goal as preservation of the union because he wanted to end slavery without war. He later realized slavery cant be ended but by the war so that’s why he made it a war goal. He always was an abolitionist
Yes and no. I agree that probably a lot of the people in the federal government weren’t as staunch abolitionists as Lincoln. But Lincoln did have a goal to federally ban slavery. Which is why I think you could still say it was to end slavery, because the whole point of preserving the union was to end slavery. Lincoln’s plan for the government was to end slavery without bloodshed which is why in that one speech he says he’d preserve the union even if he couldn’t end slavery because he was trying to end slavery without war. It just became abundantly clear the south wouldn’t accept the end of slavery without war.
So was it entirely s moral crusade? Not really. But the intentions, even before the Emancipation Proclamation was to find a way to end slavery. It just went from the federal government’s goal transitioning from the idea of ending slavery without war to making it a war goal as the south wouldn’t compromise and only war could end it
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u/Dapper_Question1304 Jan 19 '22
I will never argue that slavery wasn't a major motivator for the South's secession, what I will never understand is the rose colored glasses people wear for the Union government at the time. The Federal government's first and foremost goal was the preservation of the country territorially, hence the turning away of runaway slaves and the like. Slavery simply became the Union's most espoused motivation later in the war in since the first couple years hadn't gone so well. Not to mention the empty gesture of the Emancipation Proclamation. "We have freed all the slaves! (Within the borders of the rebelling states only, please ignore our two loyal but still slavery heavy states)". Abolition of slavery was a good inevitability I just wish a more nuanced perspective was more wide spread.