was lincoln responsible for the war?
the issue of secession might equally have been resolved in a courtroom, rather than by proclamation.
in this regard, it was the south wot forced the issue into a warlike situation.
il presidente lincoln had little choice once the southern folks made their move.
the number of casualties is an ante-bellum calculation. i think it inappropriate to juxtapose the heavy consequence of the decision to go to war with the costs of continuing slavery. two different things. lincoln did not choose to waste 600k lives. he chose to enforce the union. he was the president. given this, it was kinda his duty to defend the status quo.
and if he is president of the united states, he must be allowed to operate as the president.
if ending slavery was something on his to do list, fair dinkum. the folks in the south must put up with it if it resides within his powers.
know you argue otherwise. but clearly he thought it was something he was permitted to do. and he was a lawyer living within a framework with which i assume he was fairly familiar.
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