Rather, he felt it was his sacred duty as President of the United States to preserve the Union at all costs. His first inaugural address was an appeal to the rebellious states, seven of which had already seceded, to rejoin the nation. Lincoln held a deep conviction, believing that the United States had to maintain its moral reputation as it is a pillar of shining freedom, liberty, and happiness. Lincoln found it difficult to appoint competent generals to lead his army during the war. Legally, he held the top position in the US armed forces, and as such, he wielded his authority carefully by promoting and demoting officers, testing new weaponry, and devising strategic plans. Lincoln watched as men like McDowell, Fremont, McClellan, Pope, McClellan again, Buell, Burnside, and Rosecrans faded away because they were unable to deliver him victory in …show more content…
Lincoln made it clear he only wanted to stop the expansion of slavery as it would die on its own. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which got the Confederacy's slaves freed and called for the end of slavery, was due to the benefit the Civil War provided in abolishing slavery. In this way, the necessity of ending slavery was ingrained in history, and the Emancipation Proclamations presented its abolishment in the United States as the consequence. Lincoln understood that ensuring the abolition of slavery would require a constitutional amendment to come after the Emancipation Proclamation. Before the Southern states were let back into the Union at the close of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment was ratified on December 6th 1865. The Amendment states that no involuntary servitude will be used unless it is a punishment for a