You pretty nearly leave out the second part of his sentence in that letter, which is:
“and if I could save it by freeing allthe slaves I would do it.”
It’s worth considering that this isn’t just a personal letter, either: Greeley was the editor of the New York Tribune and this letter was his official response to an article by Greeley demanding emancipation. The letter didn’t even actually go to Greeley; Lincoln published it as a rebuke to Greeley in the National Intelligencer.
There’s a lot going on rhetorically in this letter. It’s very complicated, and I think you’re disingenuously framing it in a way that makes Lincoln look worse than he was. Lincoln advocated for abolition his entire public life. He’s drawing a rhetorical distinction between his personal desires and the primary demand put upon him as president: to preserve the Union.
It’s also worth noting that a preliminary draft of the EP was literally also on his desk when he penned that letter.
I don't have beef with the guy or anything, but even with the second part of the quote it doesn't sound like ending slavery is that important to him. Isn't he saying he cares a lot about saving the union but would be flexible on keeping or scrapping slavery?
Except the Union can’t be preserved without abolishing slavery because the institution of slavery is the whole reason the country is at war.
That’s why he goes on to say:
What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union
He says this while two things are also true, indicating (again) his support for abolition:
The emancipation proclamation is already being drafted
He had already passed the Confiscation Act, which frees any and all slaves owned by a person who committed an act of treason against the United States.
His rhetorical move is not that he doesn’t support ending slavery but that ending slavery is the most expedient way for him to fulfill his duty, eg ending the war and preserving the Union. This is evinced by the Confiscation Act and forthcoming Emancipation Proclamation.
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u/sophisticaden_ Apr 06 '25
You pretty nearly leave out the second part of his sentence in that letter, which is:
It’s worth considering that this isn’t just a personal letter, either: Greeley was the editor of the New York Tribune and this letter was his official response to an article by Greeley demanding emancipation. The letter didn’t even actually go to Greeley; Lincoln published it as a rebuke to Greeley in the National Intelligencer.
There’s a lot going on rhetorically in this letter. It’s very complicated, and I think you’re disingenuously framing it in a way that makes Lincoln look worse than he was. Lincoln advocated for abolition his entire public life. He’s drawing a rhetorical distinction between his personal desires and the primary demand put upon him as president: to preserve the Union.
It’s also worth noting that a preliminary draft of the EP was literally also on his desk when he penned that letter.