“If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it,” Lincoln explained to New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, “and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save this Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.”18 Lincoln quickly rescinded Hunter’s order, but it was too late. The Confederate States were officially recognized as a separate
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