Lincoln pursued emancipation as a Union-saving measure, not a Black-saving one

Evidence

Lincoln had finally opened up to the idea of proclaiming emancipation because it would save the Union (not because it would save Black people). — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 580

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s ongoing test of whether policy precedes ideas — here emancipation policy is explicitly framed by self-interest (saving the Union), confirming Kendi’s inversion.