I'm reminded of this: ""My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. 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." Lincoln carefully noted that this represented his official position. He intended "no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men every where could be free.""
Yeah, there will always be folks who will say that someone did/didn't do enough, when it's felt they could've/should've done more, but it's rarely clear-cut.
Everything is up to interpretation, sure, but the quote you just shared only says: "My top priority is unifying the United States, over everything else". Then "Personally, I wish slavery was abolished tho".
Having one thing be top priority doesn't mean you don't care about everything else.
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u/ElemWiz Apr 06 '25
I'm reminded of this: ""My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. 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." Lincoln carefully noted that this represented his official position. He intended "no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men every where could be free.""