"If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it, and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also so that" (Voices of America, p.138).
Lincoln didn't give a rip about slaves, nor did he give a rip about the Constitution.
You forgot this part of the letter: "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 every where could be free."
Lincoln didn't give a rip about slaves, nor did he give a rip about the Constitution.
Wrong on both counts.