On the recordAugust 22, 1862
What I do about slavery and the coloured 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.
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gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
In a letter to Horace Greeley, Lincoln explained that his actions concerning slavery were driven by his belief in what would best preserve the Union.
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More from Abraham Lincoln
Mar 17, 1865
Or, if one out of four will, for his own freedom fight to keep the other three in slavery, he ought to be a slave for his selfish meanness.
Mar 3, 1865
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds.
Apr 11, 1865
As a general rule I abstain from reading the reports of attacks upon myself, wishing not to be provoked by that to which I cannot properly offer an answer.
Mar 26, 1865
Second. That the flag, when raised, be saluted by one hundred guns from Fort Sumter and by a national salute from every fort and rebel battery that fired upon Fort Sumter.
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