July 22, 1862: President Abraham Lincoln informed his cabinet that he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves. But ending slavery wasn’t Lincoln's priority. He hoped it would result in blacks fleeing the South and joining the Union army, thus weakening the South.
Quote of the Day
"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or to destroy slavery.” –Abraham Lincoln
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