| > Weird. It was verifiably not about slavery - at least not from the beginning. It was not an issue until well into the war. The civil war was verifiably about slavery from the beginning[0]. South Carolina explicitly mentioned slavery as part of its rationale for secession[1], as did numerous other states[2]. Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, declared slavery to be its very cornerstone[3]: "our new government['s] foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery—subordination to the superior race—is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth."
Even the "states rights'" arguments around the Civil War boil down to specifically the Southern states defending their right to continue slavery without interference from the North. That's what they were seceding over.[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_the_American_Civil_... [1]https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp [2]https://www.historynet.com/which-states-referred-to-slavery-... [3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone_Speech |
The fact is that Lincoln upheld the rights of the Southern states with regards to slavery, both before and after the start of the civil war. This is a quote from Lincoln on the campaign trail immediately before his election and the start of the war [1]:
I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, [applause]-that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. (He goes on like this at length)
From Lincoln's inaugural address, after secession and war had started [2]:
I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.
Lincoln also prohibited a policy of promising freedom for slaves that would support the Union in the early stages of the war (several states that were part of the Union were also slave states).
It was only well into the war that the tune was changed, at a politically opportune time, and, as we know, not always with great concern or a great outcome for the former slaves.
I am surprised that people would be taken aback by this. These are well established historical facts, and well known, I guess outside the U.S. educational system.
[1] https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/debate4.htm
[2] https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln1.asp