Was the civil war fought to free the slaves?

Question: Was the civil war fought to free the slaves!?
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no , the civil war was fought to preserve the union

Lincoln made it clear that the North was fighting the war to preserve the Union!. On August 22, 1862, just a few weeks before signing the Proclamation and after he had already discussed a draft of it with his cabinet in July, he wrote a letter in response to an editorial by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune which had urged complete abolition:

I would save the Union!. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution!. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was!." If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them!. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them!.

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 freeWww@QuestionHome@Com

No it was not!. The Civil War was fought so the South couldn't succeed from the Union!. There were many divisions between the North and the South besides being anti-slavery and pro-slavery!. That was only one of the reasons!. The South wanted to succeed and the US government didn't want that to happen so the Civil War was fought!. The freeing of the slaves was just a positive outcome!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

This is something that arose after the war and which often uses the Emancipation as proof!. The simple fact is that slavery was, sadly, a more minor reason for the war!. We're lead to believe that all Northerners wanted to free the slaves and all Southerners were fighting to keep slaves which simply isn't the case!.

First off, most people in the South could not afford to own a single slave!. There was no way they were going to be willing to fight a war just so those who owned slaves could keep their slaves and continue to get richer!. But they were more than willing to fight for their freedom if they believed their rights were being denied to them!.

It was very similar to the patriots fighting for their freedom during the Revolution because they felt that their rights were being denied to them by Parliament's taxing them their being represented in Parliament!. The key difference was that the Southern states were represented in Congress, but congressional votes tended to go more towards the interests of the North quite often at the expense of the South!. Thus seeing ones rights taken away in favor of some else would better lead a person to be more willing to fight for what they feel their being denied!.

Secondly is the thought that everyone in the North was willing to fight to free the slaves!. This couldn't be further from the truth!. Most people in the North might talk about slavery being wrong, but they had little interest in actually freeing the slaves!. In fact they were as much to blame as the South for the continuation of slavery!. Union factories bought Southern cotton!. Cotton which was made cheaper through the use of slave labor!. Had the plantations not used slaves, the price of cotton would have been higher as the plantation owners would have had to add in the cost of paying their work force!. The same thing went of tobacco!. Northerners would complain about slavery, but most weren't willing to do anything about it because it would have affected them personally!.

Then you come to the outbreak of the war!. In the North it was a war to preserve the Union!. Most Northerners who flocked to the recruiters office wanted to fight to do exactly that, preserve the Union!. As in the South they looked to the Revolution, but they looked at how it formed a new nation!. And in that light they south the Soth seceding from the nation as destroying a nation their ancestors gave their lives to form!. So they were not about to to let that happen!.

Of course there's the Emancipation Proclamation, the document often touted as proof the war was about freeing the slaves!. Except it wasn't about freeing slaves but rather about exerting authority and making the Confederacy's actions illegal!. Actually take a look at the Emancipation, it only freed slaves in those states in open rebellion against the federal government!. But not in the Union boarder states!. Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia (which effectively was a territory when the Emancipation went into effect in January of 1863 and became a state later in the year), Kentucky, and Missouri were all slave states within the Union!. Had the Emacipation been about freeing the slaves then it would not mattered whether states were in open rebellion or not!.

But Lincoln was rather brilliant when he penned the Emancipation!. Officially the states that were supposed to be effected by it were actually a seperate nation and thus were not actually effected by the Emancipation!. Yet at the same time they were fighting for their freedom!. The Emancipation made their actions illegal which not only made more troops enlist to put down the Confederacy for it's illegal actions but also made it clear to other countries that they should not openly side with the Confederacy!. And yet the Emancipation could only come into effect in those areas of the South that came under Union control, and then only if a Union commander was willing to enforce it!. Until that time the document meant absolutely nothing!.

It's also of interest that Lincoln did not want to free the slaves!. While he had made speeches while running against Stephen Douglas for an Illinois sentorial seat, while running for president and after being elected he let it be known he had no intention of actually freeing the slaves!. He had to be encouraged during the war to pen the Emancipation, and it was noted abolisionists including Frederick Douglas who were encouraging him to do so!.

Once the war had been over for a few years abolitionists turned the war from one of states rights and preserving the union into a war to free the slaves!. But very few saw it as such during the war!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

the Union of the States was Voluntary !?!?!?!?!? and when some states wanted out The Union went to war on them sounds Familiar USSR change the SR with an A and tell me the difference in there actions both killed to maintain the UNION

The civil war was started By Bullies who wanted to preserve the Union and slavery was just an excuse i believe the North should give the south their Independence

Just Like Milosevic in Serbia just like Georgia just like Long shanks with Scotland

Just like the IRA in Ireland

the story goes on with the USA the strongest won and the little people got trodden on

whats the Word Might is Right

when are Kurds Going to get wiped out because they want Independence after all the USA do not need the to revolt again

After the Gulf War, the Iraqi Kurds were encouraged by the then US President, George Bush, to revolt against Sadam Hussain, but received no support when they were attacked!. There was much suffering and loss of life and a mass exodus mainly to Iran and Turkey!. After pressure from the then UK Prime Minister, John Major, a Kurdish safe-haven was established in northern Iraq by the United Nations!. There are many political parties, the PUK and PDK each control part of the country!. After intermittent internal fighting a peace agreement was signed on September 7th 1988, in Washington, DC!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No one can really say!. But my guess is just a fight for power!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com