Civil war Perspective

[BmorePat87]

(07-13-2015, 06:37 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I would disagree. I mean, think about the pedestal upon which Lincoln is hoisted as "The great Emancipator." Is it taught in schools today that he had no intention of ending slavery when elected?

It is certainly taught that it was not his goal coming into the Presidency to end slavery.

And, yea, Lincoln will forever be on that pedestal. He was a great president and kept the Union together and ended the Civil War. But it's hard to separate Lincoln's role in the Civil War from everything else. So while the real emancipation (13th Amendment because the Emancipation Proclamation didn't really do anything) is not a part of the Civil War, we will remember it as part of the Civil War era.

But none of this suggests that the North fought the war to end slavery. Most knew it had to remain to keep the Union intact prior to the war and hoped that rapid industrialization and containment of slavery would eventually kill the institution organically.