Today in history: Lincoln reveals the real goal of the Civil War

Aug. 22, 1862: President Lincoln told a New York newspaper that preserving the Union was his main goal of the Civil War — not abolishing slavery.

"If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all slaves I would do it," Lincoln said.

The comments were in response to an open letter to the president by Horace Greeley, a well-known journalist of the day.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

You can read both Greeley's letter and Lincoln's response here.

Quote of the day

"We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it." -Abraham Lincoln

More from West Wing Reports...

• Obama's hands on, hands off foreign policy
• Mind the gap: gender gap persists with Dems, GOP
• Climate change could spark global violence