Did Abraham Lincoln really say that he'd have allowed slavery to continue if it had kept the union together?

Question

EDIT: Also, if he really said this, why hasn't it take a toll on his legacy?

Answer 1

Lincoln wrote something like what you mention, but I suspect those who presented it to you did not give you the specifics of the context in which he wrote it.

Note that this was no great secret, and Lincoln scholars have NOT been trying to cover it up (despite what some modern day smear jobs about "the Real Lincoln" insinuate).

To understand what he was doing, there are TWO things you need to be aware of. Many know the first, but miss the second, but please pay attention to BOTH.

(1) Lincoln, slavery and his Presidential oath --

Lincoln was NOT an abolitionist, but DID think slavery morally wrong and wanted it to end. He believed, with many Republicans, that preventing the SPREAD of slavery into the territories, would cause it to weaken to the point where the slave states would THEMSELVES do as the Northern states had, and eliminate it. He repeatedly explained this view, though is especially plain in the Lincoln-Douglas debates and his First Inaugural Address.

Related to this, as President he was sworn to defend the Union and the Constitution. Thus, when he spoke of his priority --indeed his sworn DUTY-- being to seek to preserve (or restore) the Union, it was based on this oath.

It was ALSO based on the LIMITS of his authority as President under the CONSTITUTION. What critics of Lincoln's initial "failure" or "unwillingness" to free the slaves forget (or in some cases, willfully misrepresent), is that Lincoln had NO authority to simply free slaves, nor could Congress legislate the end of slavery (except in the District of Columbia). Thus your statement about his "allowing" slavery is misled -- he had no say about the matter.

... EXCEPT if he could rightly attack slavery AS a military action against an enemy or territory in rebellion -- in his role as Commander-in-Chief-- which is what he finally decided he could and WOULD do in the Emancipation Proclamation. Again though, he was sworn to do so FIRST of all in a way that would keep his oath of office to defend the UNION.

(Incidentally, a point few critics even consider here -- if Lincoln sought a way of freeing slaves INSTEAD of restoring the Union, what good would that do? If he failed to restore the Union, Southern slaves WOULD not be freed! ONLY restoring the Union might make the other end possible.)
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(2) But there is ANOTHER piece to this -- which becomes plain if you look closely at your Lincoln quote AND plot a few key events on the calendar:

The statement you are referring to is taken from what may well be the most famous of Lincoln's letters -- written in response to New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley's criticisms of Lincoln.

Here's the whole thing (read also the page introduction):
http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/greeley.htm


It is important to observe that this was no private letter, but a deliberate public response. He wrote in part to clarify his strongly held conviction that his Constitutional responsibility was to preserve the Union by all means at his disposal. But he was doing something MORE than that, as Greeley himself later recognized. To see this, it is critical to know WHEN he wrote this, and what else was going on at the time.

Take note of the following dates from 1862:
- JULY 22, AUGUST 22, SEPTEMBER 22

Here's what happened in each one --

July 22 - Lincoln presents to his cabinet his plan to issue an emancipation proclamation, which he has already drafted in a preliminary form. Secretary of War Stanton suggests issuing it immediately. Secretary of State Seward, however, suggests that, in light of the current military struggles, this would appear merely as a desperate act. He advises waiting for a Union victory. Lincoln agrees.

August 22 - Lincoln -- having the Emancipation Proclamation in his desk, ready for release (this is key!)-- takes the opportunity to respond to the criticisms of Greely and others. This letter acts to reassure the many in the North who feared "radical" abolitionists. But by including the statement that he WOULD gladly take the step of freeing slaves if it would save the Union, he sets out a justification that prepares the way for the Proclamation.

September 22 - after the Union victory at Antietam, Lincoln makes public the "preliminary emancipation proclamation", announcing that 100 days later (January 1, 1863) he will, according to his WAR powers ("as a military necessity") proclaim slaves free in all territories then in rebellion.

In short, the letter is PART of his move to emancipate the slaves!! In fact, once the Emancipation Proclamation was made public, Greeley himself recognized this and commented on it. (Indeed, Frederick Douglass, who had likewise criticized Lincoln's slowness to act, later strongly DEFENDED both the actions Lincoln took and the method and timing.. as those calculated to have the best chance of success BOTH in helping the war effort AND bringing slavery to an end.)

Compare http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9803/emanc.html

Note how its conclusion articulates his VARIOUS concerns and desires:
" And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God."


(3) Oh, yes... you should also know this -- Lincoln had been working on emancipation programs since late 1861!
He began by lobbying the loyal border states to willingly emancipate their slaves with financial assistance from Congress -- they unfortunately rebuffed him, though by war's end, all but Kentucky had done so.

Lincoln then followed up his Proclamation with OTHER steps to ensure an end to slavery that could NOT be undone even by a hostile court (like the Supreme Court under Roger Taney). He eventually settled on a constitutional amendment (the 13th) and used many means (lobbying, logrolling, even hastening Nevada's statehood process) to obtain its passage.

Answer 2

Lincoln saved the union. This one is truly ridiculous Abe Lincoln didn't save the union. He destroyed the original Union and changed this country from a confederation of sovereign States to a strong centralized central government, with the States subervient to the federal government. He did this by the use of military force, in strict defiance of the Declaration of Independence that he claimed to love so dearly.Most of the Founding Fathers wanted the central government to be an agent of the States. It was clear to them that a strong central government would inevitably lead to the quest for empire precisely the same situation the 13 colonies had just escaped whenthey successfully seceded from the British Empire.

Answer 3

" 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. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free. "
Abraham Lincoln 1862

Answer 4

Yes. At the start of the war it was all about preserving the union. While there were many abolitionist groups most people thought that they were extreme.
Lincoln did change his mind later in the war to some extent and did issue the Emancipation Proclamation but many many people were against it's issuance.

Answer 5

yes, Lincoln's sole purpose of the war was to preserve the union. However, he did not want slavery to spread into all the new territories of the US. He is quoted aas saying in a letter to Virginia that "i have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I beleive I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."

Answer 6

Lincoln stated (paraphrasing)
If I can preserved the nation by freeing the slaves I would do so, If I can save the nation by freeing some slave and not others I will do that or if I can save the nation by freeing no slaves I will do that

Answer 7

Surely did, regrets over serious mistake

He did not start that war.

It was a course from God over killing His Prophet

Joseph Smith in 1844.