• Kage520@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Before the war, Lincoln wasn’t an abolitionist. He wanted to stop new states from having slavery, and keep no slavery where it was. He was fine with letting the south keep their slaves for the sake of the Union.

    The problem was the South did not want to limit their potential to grow slavery to new states, and decided to go to war over it.

    Still doubt negotiation could have worked. Lincoln really did not want to go to war in the first place.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I judge people more by their deeds than their desires, especially their desires before the fact. Lincoln ended up doing the right thing. He also ended up successfully seeing the country through one of the most difficult times, if not the most difficult time, in its history. He is, to me, rightfully regarded as one of our greatest presidents regardless of his thoughts on slavery before the war.

    • nbafantest@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      The problem was the South did not want to limit their potential to grow slavery to new states, and decided to go to war over it.

      This shows exactly why Trump is wrong.

      The reason they didn’t want new states to all be free states is that then Congress would have the votes to make slavery illegal.