It was fought first, last, and only to preserve the Union."
jeffersondem: "Well, if that’s true we can dismiss forever the notion that the North fought the war for some high moral cause like 'freeing the slaves.' "
Slavery can easily be called a "root cause" for Civil War even though slavery did not drive Jefferson Davis to order assault on Fort Sumter, nor drive Abraham Lincoln to call up 75,00 troops for putting down rebellion.
However, freed slaves did help end war with Union victory.
So for those hundreds of thousands of freed slaves who served, it certainly was all about "freeing the slaves".
And they were not the only ones who fought to free the slaves.
Yes, some Unionists (especially Democrats) threatened to quit the war if it was to "free the slaves".
But many more joined the cause which they felt was now made holy, for example in Julia Ward Howe's Battle Hymn of the Republic
- "In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free*,[14]
While God is marching on."
Those words still stir many of us today.
Finally, once Lincoln announced his Emancipation Proclamation then regardless of what people had felt before it certainly did become all about "freeing the slaves".
Yes, as late as early 1865 Lincoln was willing to offer Confederates a buy-out plan for slaves, but by that time slavery itself was non-negotiable for the Union.
