If Abe Lincoln wasn't for freeing the slaves,why did he prosecute the Civil War for what reasons.?

Question

Why did the North still end up going to War against the South then?

But why did want to save the Union for komoswest,that's what i'm seeking an answer for

Answer 1

President Lincoln believed in a Constitution of the United States in which the federal Government was a sovereign entity supreme over the States and that the States had no power to secede from that union.

This belief had existed since ratification and had grown little by little through the intervening years. A reference here would be the Kentucky Resolution (written by Thomas Jefferson) and the Virginia Resolution (written by James Madison). In these documents not only did the States have the right to secede, but they (individual States) were able to enact State Nullification of federal acts as unconstitutional. In addition you may find the 1828 Exposition written by former Vice President Calhoun which also stress States’ rights and sovereignty. Such concepts were based (in part) on the Treaty of Peace [1783] signed in Paris between Great Britain and the United States (under the Articles of Confederation) where in Article One, each State was named and recognize as (individually) Free, Independent, and Sovereign and those States’ Rights have never been rescinded even unto today.

If President Lincoln allowed the States to secede this would have diminished (in the eyes of some) the United States, obviously decreased its income (via taxes), developed a close relationship between the Confederacy and Great Britain, and began the development of a strong competitor with a growing industrial segment (assisted by both Great Britain and France) that also had a superior agricultural segment.

It was also clear that within the ensuing 20 odd years, slavery would disappear from the Southern States due to industrial development and the pressure of the Confederacy's (soon to be) foreign friends such as England.

Slavery was never a 'causative' factor, but became a late in the war tool used to keep England from assisting the Confederacy and increasing Union military man power.

Answer 2

Lincoln was seen as an abolitionist, but it was not a concern of his at the onset of the war. The reasons going for war go back at least 30 years before the wars start. Chief among these reasons were state's rights. Put simply the South wanted strong state governments and a weak federal government and the North wanted the opposite. It really looks like the election of Lincoln is the spark that starts the war, not a single electoral vote from a Southern state went to Lincoln. However things were building up well before that. One main issue was a series of laws regarding importing goods that were passed by the federal government. These laws benefited the Northern states, which were largely industrial, by putting tariffs on imported goods. This was damaging to the largely agricultural South.

There are many reasons the Civil War happened and none of them are so simple or as independent of each other as was once thought.

Why did the North fight, though? The South believed that the states had the right at any time to leave the Union, which they believed was more of a loose alliance than a unified nation. The North believed that the Union was a single government and that the states were secondary to the federal government. The South saw cessession as a right, the North saw it as an act of treason. Although, interesting enough, not a single Southern general, many of whom were in the army prior to the war, was charged with treason on the war conclusion.

Answer 3

To save the UNION . He did not wont this country torn apart. He and others new that for this country to grow a become great and lasting it had to remain hole . Even the founding fathers new this ,this is y we have the saying united we stand dived we fall.

Answer 4

History is written by the winners of the war. Slavery was the main course of the civil war but right there with it are state rights we lost state rights after the civil war. Is this good? Is this bad? I tend to lean on the bad side but i can see pros's and con's for both. You will have to make up your own mind on all this..

Answer 5

He should have fought harder for his "Liberia" idea.. things would be a lot better now....