"Most white Americans had little interest in the lives of the enslaved and they certainly did not volunteer or serve in the United States army to abolish slavery. Many, however, did come to believe that the war could be concluded and the Union saved sooner if slavery was abolished, but that hardly translated into any interest in racial e…
"Most white Americans had little interest in the lives of the enslaved and they certainly did not volunteer or serve in the United States army to abolish slavery. Many, however, did come to believe that the war could be concluded and the Union saved sooner if slavery was abolished, but that hardly translated into any interest in racial equality." Is it possible you're being a little pessimistic here? The slave-holders tried to destroy the Union. Did that not have a radicalising effect on Unionists, making them abolitionists? I don't claim to know of any evidence for this, just observation that opinions don't always change gradually, but sometimes suddenly in a crisis. Doesn't always last, of course.
"Most white Americans had little interest in the lives of the enslaved and they certainly did not volunteer or serve in the United States army to abolish slavery. Many, however, did come to believe that the war could be concluded and the Union saved sooner if slavery was abolished, but that hardly translated into any interest in racial equality." Is it possible you're being a little pessimistic here? The slave-holders tried to destroy the Union. Did that not have a radicalising effect on Unionists, making them abolitionists? I don't claim to know of any evidence for this, just observation that opinions don't always change gradually, but sometimes suddenly in a crisis. Doesn't always last, of course.