Use the passage to answer the question.
“If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.”
-Abraham Lincoln August 22, 1862
Based on the quote, what is Lincoln’s primary goal?
A. freeing the slaves
B. punishing the South
C. preserving the Union
D. not addressing slavery
