[fredhead]

Lincoln stated early in his Presidency that his main aim was to preserve the Union. He said it didn’t matter if all of the states were slave, all free, or some free and some slave. Preserving the Union was what mattered.

BTW the Emancipation Proclamation freed NO SLAVES!!!
The Proclamation only applied to the areas of states then in rebellion that were not controlled by the Union army. Therefore, it only freed slaves in areas where the North was not in power.

Because of that war, so much power was stripped from the individual states and taken over by the Federal government that the whole makeup of our nation changed.

[rhombus]

Because of that war, so much power was stripped from the individual states and taken over by the Federal government that the whole makeup of our nation changed.

Agreed. What a foolish issue to make a stand for States Rights over. A total shame all the way around. Of course had they tried to settle that issue earlier they might never have gotten the Constitution ratified.

[highball]

BTW the Emancipation Proclamation freed NO SLAVES!!!
The Proclamation only applied to the areas of states then in rebellion that were not controlled by the Union army. Therefore, it only freed slaves in areas where the North was not in power.

True enough.

The Emancipation Proclamation was an attempt to gain the moral high ground, and prevent Great Britain from allying itself with the Confederacy. Worked like a charm.

Slavery was very low on the North's list of reasons for fighting the Civil War.

[Main Street]

How could Lincoln free the slaves if he didn’t first preserve the Union??

What power would Lincoln have over slavery in a separate nation if the Union had lost??