[Beetle01]

"In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free-- honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve." A. Lincoln, Dec. 1, 1862, State of Union address to Congress.

The Civil War for Lincoln, I think, was an anguishing decision to preserve the Union. These were hot-headed times. Just as today, individual men and women had to make concessions to the Party Platform to get nominated. Lincoln, the man, hated slavery. Lincoln the politican was often a pragmatist. Your facts are colored by hatred of whoever you deem the enemy to be.

That quote is just Lincoln trying to keep up motivation for a fight with the South. Which at that time was not going very well. Lincoln may not have been a fan of slavery. I have never argued that he was. He was not a slave owner.

However, you have yet to answer my question of whether or not you believe the civil war was fought over slavery?

Slavery ending was about the only good thing that came out of the civil war. In a wierd kinda way I'm glad it all did happen, because without the men and women of the black community our country would not be as great as it is today.