President Lincoln did not start his term as the Great Emancipator history recounts him as. Moreover, he understood his priority was preserving the nation, not pushing his moral agenda. Unlike many presidents, Lincoln did not have the luxury of making legislature to further the nation morally. Lincoln took into account the aggressive tension between the North and South during his presidency and had acted accordingly. He may not have approved of slavery but he did not want to start war within the divided nation. The war gave him the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, and in doing so became one of the Nation’s greatest and most revered presidents.
