“My enemies say I am now carrying on this war for the sole purpose of abolition. It is and will be carried on so long as I am President for the sole purpose of restoring the Union. But no human power can subdue this rebellion without using the Emancipation lever as I have done.”
~ Abraham Lincoln, Interview with Alexander W. Randall and Joseph T. Mills (1864)
Isn’t it interesting that Lincoln felt it necessary to reassure the people in the Union that he was not fighting for abolition? This is in 1864, after he allegedly “evolved” on his views on blacks and the war effort “changed” into some humanitarian crusade.
Don’t believe the hype folks!