Does anyone else wonder why Lincoln wanted to free the slaves?

[chasin82003]

Over 600,000 American lives were lost,so I doubt it was strictly a humanitarian concern. Could it be the factory owners,up north, wanted some cheaper labor?

 

[tsimdanglefresh]

Are you kidding? Slavery was terrible, brutal, hardships based on race which was completely out of order. The lives lost brought it upon themselves with the slaves they had beaten brutally and abused and ordered around to work for them. How can you even be comfortable asking this question?