Lincoln’s plan at the outset of the Civil War was to capture southern territory. He was not an abolitionist and endorsed colonization as a solution to slavery. He found himself the focus of pressure from anti-slavery advocates imploring him to comprehend that slavery was the economic and social foundation of the South. They felt emancipation was required in order to weaken the South and that abolition must become a war aim. By 1862, Lincoln determined that emancipation had become a military and political necessity and to defeat the southern army, he would have to make slavery a military target. The northern victory at Antietam led to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Lincoln initially stated that the conflict was not being fought to end
Lincoln initially stated that the conflict was not being fought to end