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Abraham Lincoln said this quote

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......

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Q: Who said my paramount object is to save the union?
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Was the Civil War fought to free slaves or perserve the Union?

President Lincoln said that his goal was to poop on The Union and paraphrasing him he also said"If making the states all free would preserve the union, I would do it. If making the states half slave and half free would preserve the union, I would do it. If making the states all slave would preserve the union, I would do it.Notice the last statement: If making the states all slave would preserve the union, I would do it. President Lincoln's motivation was the preservation of the union. The emancipation proclamation became effective (sort of) in January 1863 which was over one and a half years after the war begun. The "sort of" above is referring to the fact that the proclomation was declared over the states in rebellion which because they were in rebellion had not allegiance and would not therefore comply with the proclamation rendering it therefore not legally binding. Further the emancipation proclamation was not a law. Only congress can pass laws and the constitutioinal amendment outlawing slavery was passed after the civil war ended.The freeing of the slaves became the moral and just causeand rallying cry for the war which was not begun to free the slaves. The motivation to carry on the civil war changed just as the motivation for the Iraq war has changed from protecting the U.S. from WMD to freeing the oppressed Iraqi people.This is the quote that is being paraphrased. Here is Lincoln, verbatim, "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 it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do notbelieve it would help to save the Union. I shall do lesswhenever 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."


What did the southern states do when congress tried to find a compromise to save the union?

Seceded it.


Who argued that the only way to save the union was to protect slavery?

John C. Calhoun


Lincoln's letter to Horace Greeley?

Written during the heart of the Civil War, this is one of Abraham Lincoln's most famous letters. Greeley, editor of the influential New York Tribune, had just addressed an editorial to Lincoln called "The Prayer of Twenty Millions," making demands and implying that Lincoln's administration lacked direction and resolve. President Lincoln made his reply when a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation already lay in his desk drawer. His response revealed his concentration on preserving the Union. The letter, which received acclaim in the North, stands as a classic statement of Lincoln's constitutional responsibilities. A few years after the president's death, Greeley wrote an assessment of Lincoln. He stated that Lincoln did not actually respond to his editorial but used it instead as a platform to prepare the public for his "altered position" on emancipation. Executive Mansion,Washington, August 22, 1862. Hon. Horace Greeley:Dear Sir. I have just read yours of the 19th. addressed to myself through the New-York Tribune. If there be in it any statements, or assumptions of fact, which I may know to be erroneous, I do not, now and here, controvert them. If there be in it any inferences which I may believe to be falsely drawn, I do not now and here, argue against them. If there be perceptable [sic] in it an impatient and dictatorial tone, I waive it in deference to an old friend, whose heart I have always supposed to be right.As to the policy I "seem to be pursuing" as you say, I have not meant to leave any one in doubt. 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 notbelieve it would help to save the Union. I shall do lesswhenever 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. Yours,A. Lincoln.


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?

Jefferson Davis

Related questions

What are Abraham Lincoln's interests?

After his first true love died. His friends put Lincoln on a suicide watch. Lincoln said the only reason he did not kill himself is because he had not made a positive change in the world. Lincoln wanted to be remembered.


What was President Abraham Lincoln's major accomplishment?

President Lincoln endured the pressure of ending the Confederate rebellion and saving the Union from destruction. As an off-shoot of the Union victory, slavery was abolished via the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution passed in December of 1865 after Lincoln's assassination in April of that same year."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"He may not have as noble a man as generally acknowledged. He was fortunate it worked out the way it did, which fact seems to be the one that history remembers. With all due respect for Lincoln, the saving and reunification of the US was one of the greatest events in US history.


Was Abraham Lincoln black or white?

Abraham Lincoln was white and even showed hatred for blacks, it is excepted as fact that the only reason for him freeing the blacks was in hope of revolt in the southern states, similar to the Haitian revolution. "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery." Abraham Lincoln


What 2 reason that the union to fight in the civil war?

To save the Union. To save the cotton revenues.


What is the definition of save an object?

keep the object


What was the reaction of anti slavery people in the North over President Lincoln's plan for colonization of freed Blacks?

No doubt, President Lincoln expected a Radical Republican backlash at his controversial colonization plan. When once again Horace Greeley of the Republican newspaper the New York Tribune openly protested this the now famous statement of Lincoln's position is quoted below."My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the Union, and it 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 the 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 save the Union".


Was the civil war a war to save the union or a war to free the slaves?

Lincoln went in it only to save the union


Was the Civil War fought to free slaves or perserve the Union?

President Lincoln said that his goal was to poop on The Union and paraphrasing him he also said"If making the states all free would preserve the union, I would do it. If making the states half slave and half free would preserve the union, I would do it. If making the states all slave would preserve the union, I would do it.Notice the last statement: If making the states all slave would preserve the union, I would do it. President Lincoln's motivation was the preservation of the union. The emancipation proclamation became effective (sort of) in January 1863 which was over one and a half years after the war begun. The "sort of" above is referring to the fact that the proclomation was declared over the states in rebellion which because they were in rebellion had not allegiance and would not therefore comply with the proclamation rendering it therefore not legally binding. Further the emancipation proclamation was not a law. Only congress can pass laws and the constitutioinal amendment outlawing slavery was passed after the civil war ended.The freeing of the slaves became the moral and just causeand rallying cry for the war which was not begun to free the slaves. The motivation to carry on the civil war changed just as the motivation for the Iraq war has changed from protecting the U.S. from WMD to freeing the oppressed Iraqi people.This is the quote that is being paraphrased. Here is Lincoln, verbatim, "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 it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do notbelieve it would help to save the Union. I shall do lesswhenever 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."


What is most important for Lincoln keeping the nation together during the civil war or ending slavery?

In August of 1862, a newspaper wrote an editorial strongly criticizing Lincoln for not trying to abolish slavery. Lincoln then wrote a response, strongly rebuking the criticism. Here is the main point of his response, in his own words:"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."


Why at the beginning of the Civil War did Lincoln not say that he was fighting the war to end slavery?

I don't know, what i do know is at the beginning Lincoln said he was fighting to save the union.


Did the Civil War save the union?

The fact that the Union won the Civil War saved the Union.


Who was the person to save the union?

President Lincoln.