• BenLeMan@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    That’s pretty much what Lincoln tried to do with his inaugural speech after several states had seceded already. He tried to talk them down and promised that the North would not interfere with their life heavy-handedly but that insurrection was too serious for him to ignore. And then they stormed Fort Sumter and forced his hand. He didn’t even commit to the cause of abolishing slavery until the third year of the war.