To ensure border states remained in the union, he never said his goal was to end slavery, only that it was to save the union.
Roosevelt's personality and political philosophy fitted the imperatives far more than they did the fashions of the times, so that the degree to which his behavior in the White House both hastened and shaped the dramatic growth of presidential power over the next seventy-five years must be seriously considered. Temperamentally, Roosevelt craved attention. Once in the White House, especially in view of the changed national and international circumstances, he could not fail to focus national attention on the presidency.
