[cgbg]

Correspondence from Union troops was very clear what they believed they were fighting for:

“Preserve the Union”.

When the Emancipation Proclamation was issued many troops wrote home and said “I didn’t sign up for that.”

That is the view from the rank and file.

Obviously different political figures had their own motives.

[Fiji Hill]

Correspondence from Union troops was very clear what they believed they were fighting for: “Preserve the Union”.

And a Southern POW was asked why he was fighting, since he was too poor to own any slaves. He replied to his interrogator, "because you all are down here."

[Alberta's Child]

Regardless of the nuances of history, you would think a Republican presidential candidate in 2023 would have salivated at the opportunity to point out that the Republican Party was founded in 1854 on an anti-slavery political platform.

Nimrata Haley is politically tone-deaf and dumber than a bag of rocks. She may really believe the Civil War was fought to outlaw Confederate flags.

[mass55th]

"Correspondence from Union troops was very clear what they believed they were fighting for: 'Preserve the Union'."

Exactly. See the 1864 letter I posted at #34 on this thread.

[Miami Rebel]

The Unionists fought for many reasons. The secessionists fought for one: the preservation of the institution of slavery.