Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivanhoe 
Grant didn't free his slaves until after the war, saying good help is hard to find. Also, Lincoln disagrees with you on the cause of the war. Lincoln said, at teh outset, that he had no desire to free teh slaves if he didn't have to.
| We're way, way off topic now, so one last word from me. The reason freeing the slaves was hard to do for Lincoln was because there was no clear political consensus on exactly how to do it. Release them all at once and create a huge refugee problem? Release them gradually? His party (Republican) was very divided on this issue. At the time they weren't sure of the best way to proceed. Eventually Lincoln freed all the Confederate slaves at once when the Union had major momentum in the South.
Slavery wasn't the ONLY reason for secession, but it was a major one. Freeing the slaves meant a huge economic blow to the agrarian South. It was as much an economics issue as a race issue. The imposition of (legal) tariffs was another major point of contention. Regardless, secession was by no means justified. An interesting read on the subject is "The Idea of a Southern Nation" by John McCardell.
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Mason
Member, Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA)
New York, NY
"Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool." - Isaiah 1:18
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