"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel. And yet I have never understood that the Presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted right to act officially upon this judgment and feeling ... I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me."

Question

"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel. And yet I have never understood that the Presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted right to act officially upon this judgment and feeling ... I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me."

– Abraham Lincoln, letter to Albert G. Hodges, editor of the Frankfort Chronicle in Kentucky, 1864

The statement reproduced above can most accurately be seen as a reflection of ______________.

The Union’s desire to end the Civil War in 1862

Abraham Lincoln’s primary goal of preserving the Union over abolishing slavery

The president’s goal of abolishing slavery in the Border States

Answer 1

Abraham Lincoln's internal struggle regarding his personal beliefs on slavery and the limitations of his presidential power in regards to taking action on the issue.