I think my comment about Lincoln and emancipation is being misconstrued. Lincoln genuinely believed in ending slavery, but as you mentioned, he cared more about

I think my comment about Lincoln and emancipation is being misconstrued. Lincoln genuinely believed in ending slavery, but as you mentioned, he cared more about preserving the unity of the Union. However, I don't believe I said he preferred keeping slavery. If he could keep the Union from being divided and preserving the inhumane practice of slavery would do that, I think he would. However, as others pointed out, the rift between the two regions were too great. I apologize for any confusion if I implied he preferred slavery. I do not believe that to be the case. Perhaps the nuance I was trying to put forward was that he preferred preserving the union, even if that meant keeping the savagery of slavery. Perhaps an analogy to present day might be DADT. The Obama administration preferred to avoid resolving the issue of DADT immediately, even though his administration wanted to end it at some point, since it would cost significant political capital. However, given the public support at the right time and conditions, DADT was repealed.