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Hank C-
Lincoln's purpose in prosecuting the war was to preserve the Union. He himself said that freeing slaves where slavery existed was not his purpose- at least until 1863 when political considerations resulted in the EP.
Correct, Political considerations drove the EP, along with the failure of the Confiscation acts. One of the greater considerations was that northern families were becoming disgusted with the death toll and the idea that slave property was still being protected. The idea that the purpose of the EP was to foment slave revolt is indefensible.
The people in the south in 1860 and 1861 should have been protected by the US Constitution.
How were they unprotected? And if you leave it's protection how can you claim it's protecetion? The purpose of my roof is to keep the rain off me but if I go out in the yard and get wet, can I blame my roof?
I would maintain that by not forbidding secession, the Constitution allowed it. As you say, that disagreement was why the war was fought.
Your contention that: "250,000 former slaves served against the south" is not correct. There were maybe 200,000 total in USCT units. Perhaps half of them were former slaves.
That places a pretty large percentage (maybe 75%) of all free northern blacks in the army. It is correct that some 200,000 served as official USCT; many others, perhaps more, served in non-combat roles as teamsters, laborers, cooks, etc...
UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS
Since Mr. Lincoln refused to accept secession, there was a war. It didn't matter what the southerners did after announcing secession. What happened with federal property before and including Ft. Sumter only served Mr. Lincoln's purpose of inflaming public opinion in the north to prosecute the war against the southern states.
the north was plenty mad over the siezure of arsenals, mints, custom houses and post offices before Lincoln was inaugarated. Lincoln issued a number of warnings and made moves to protect the south from itself...
But since Mr. Lincoln was determined to preserve the Union by any means, war would have happened even if the southerners never touched any federal property.
strictly an opinion...
Re: "President Johnson freeing the slaves," he really didn't. The ones in the south were at least legally freed by the EP. (Though most folks here in Texas didn't even know of it until June 19, 1865.). It was the 13th Amendment that freed the few slaves left in the north. As I recall, the last slaves to be freed were a few who were living in NJ on December 6, 1865.
correct... there were 4,000,000 slaves on December 6, 1860. After Lincoln's administration, on December 6, 1865 there were none...
HankC