The Republicans were only trying to avoid expansion of slavery, not elimination of it. They fought to maintain the Union, not abolition.
Only later did they free the slaves, and as an act of war more than freedom.
Only later did they free the slaves, and as an act of war more than freedom.
I don't think their primary motivation was preservation of the Union, I think it was abolition.
Let's not pretend preservation of the Union was the only major factor, or that abolition was entirely a back-burner concept, it had been building steam and popular support for decades.
Sure, preserving the Union may have been the main concern on a realpolitik level early on, but that doesn't change the fact that abolition was the writing on the wall and had been for decades.