[DiogenesLamp]

You are aware that when Lincoln sent that letter to Greeley he had already presented the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet? And that the last line of that letter he clearly stated that his personal preference was an end to slavery?

Which means that had the South offered a conditional surrender contingent upon keeping slavery, Lincoln would have likely taken it at this same period of time.

I've seen it asserted that the Emancipation was primarily a tool for weakening the South's attempts to get foreign support and to boost the moral of his supporters, plus laying the political ground work for stealing all the money the South invested in slavery by taking them without recompense.

[DoodleDawg]

Which means that had the South offered a conditional surrender contingent upon keeping slavery, Lincoln would have likely taken it at this same period of time.

The South was still two and a half years away from realizing their cause was lost. Lincoln was under no illusion that the war was close to being over.

I've seen it asserted that the Emancipation was primarily a tool for weakening the South's attempts to get foreign support and to boost the moral of his supporters, plus laying the political ground work for stealing all the money the South invested in slavery by taking them without recompense.

I think there were several reasons for the Emancipation Proclamation. Certainly it was for foreign consumption. It was an economic tool against the South. And it prepped the way for total emancipation.