(A) end slavery
(B) increase taxes
(C) expand American territory
(D) ** preserve the Union
EXPLANATIONS BELOW
Concept note-1: -We often associate the Civil War with the end of slavery-and for good reason. But Lincoln’s primary goal in going to war was to save the Union, slavery or not. The Emancipation Proclamation changed the equation. The Civil War began on April 12, 1861.
Concept note-2: -The Civil War began as a purely military effort with limited political objectives. The North was fighting for reunification, and the South for independence.
Concept note-3: -For Lincoln, the task was always to preserve the Union. In his first inaugural address, Lincoln said, “Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever, it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself.”
Concept note-4: -Lincoln declared that he would do everything necessary to keep the United States united as one country. He refused to recognize the southern states as an independent nation and the Civil War erupted in the spring of 1861.
Concept note-5: -The Civil War ended slavery and preserved the Union, but failed to end the sectional bitterness and racial strife that would continue for generations.