“My paramount object in the struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery,” wrote Lincoln in a masterpiece of concise expression. “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, 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.”40 Here was something for all viewpoints: a reiteration that preservation of the Union remained the purpose of the war, but a hint that partial or even total emancipation might become necessary to accomplish that
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