Answer:
On March 3, 1820, Congress passed a bill granting Missouri statehood as a slave state under the condition that slavery was to be forever prohibited in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36th parallel, which runs approximately along the southern border of Missouri.
In his first inaugural address, President Abraham Lincoln stated his main goal for the nation was to "Preserve the Union" This remained Lincoln's main goal throughout the war. <span>
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