re: Ike chose the portraits of 4 Great Americans to hang in his Oval Office

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Would you rather have slavery today, or the Civil War, which Lincoln chose to end slavery and save the Union.

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quote:

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save the Union

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yes

quote:

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to end slavery

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not until 1863, and the EP did not apply to ANY union held territory in the CSA, or anywhere else. If the South would have sued for peace the day after the EP, Lincoln very likely would have agreed to peace still allowing slavery to exist, but likely with an "end date" (similar to how Britain ended slavery in Jamaica).