Editing Union army (section)

==Motivations==
===Anti-slavery sentiment===
In his 1997 book examining the motivations of the American Civil War's soldiers, [[For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War|''For Cause and Comrades'']], historian [[James M. McPherson]] states that Union soldiers fought to preserve the United States, as well as to end slavery, stating that:

{{blockquote|text=While restoration of the Union was the main goal for which they fought, ''they became convinced that this goal was unattainable without striking against slavery.''|author=James M. McPherson|source=''[[For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War]]'' (1997), p. 118, emphasis added.<ref name=JMMcPherson1997p118>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/forcausecomrades00mcph|url-access=registration|title=For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War|page=[https://archive.org/details/forcausecomrades00mcph/page/118 118]|last=McPherson|first=James M.|date=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press, Inc.|oclc=34912692|location=New York City|author-link=James M. McPherson|isbn=0-19-509-023-3|access-date=March 10, 2016|quote=While restoration of the Union was the main goal for which they fought, they became convinced that this goal was unattainable without striking against slavery.}}</ref>}}

McPherson states that witnessing the slave system of the Confederacy first-hand also strengthened the [[anti-slavery]] views of Union soldiers,<ref name=JMMcPherson1997p118/> who were appalled by its brutality.<ref name=JMMcPherson1997p118/> He stated that "Experience in the South reinforced the antislavery sentiments of many soldiers."<ref name=JMMcPherson1997p118/> One [[Pennsylvania in the American Civil War|Pennsylvanian]] Union soldier spoke to a slave woman whose husband was whipped, and was appalled by what she had to tell him of slavery. He stated that "I thought I had hated slavery as much as possible before I came here, but here, where I can see some of its workings, I am more than ever convinced of the cruelty and inhumanity of the system."<ref name=JMMcPherson1997p118/>