Replies

Lincoln made it clear that the North was fighting the war to preserve the Union. On August 22, 1862, just a few weeks before signing the Proclamation and after he had already discussed a draft of it with his cabinet in July, he wrote a letter in response to an editorial by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune which had urged complete abolition:

I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was." If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views.

I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free. [5]

please reread my #374. you are SMARTER than you post.

also, you are married to a "lady of colour", who also knows the TRUTH about "the filth that flowed down from the north" to do UNSPEAKABLE war crimes against Blacks (both slave & freeborn), Jews, AmerIndians, Roman Catholics, Asians, Latinos and the "poorest of the poor whites". slave-OWNERS were SPARED the atrocities that were visited upon the minorities/poor of the south because they were PROTECTED from HARM by the DAMNyankee High Command.

in all too many cases the ONLY thing that the DAMNyankees freed slaves from was BEING ALIVE!!!

be sure and ask her about what was done to MY family, just because they were "other than white persons" - she knows the whole, disgusting, story in detail.(i would NOT recommend it as a bedtime story for small children.)

free dixie,sw