From the start of the Civil War, the Northerners main goal was to preserve the Union rather than to destroy slavery. Although Lincoln considered slavery immoral, he hesitated to move against slavery because of the border states. In 1862, Lincoln stated, "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others, I would also do that." That was his official position. His personal wish was "that all men everywhere should be free." As the war went on, attitudes about slavery began to change. More Northerners believed that slavery was helping the South during the war. After all, slaves were used to raise the crops to feed the Confederacy and they did the heavy work in the trenches of war camps. In the North's view, anything that weakened slavery struck a blow against the Confederacy. After the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in U.S. history, Lincoln felt it was time to strike a blow against slavery. This would also make Britain and France less likely to aid the South. Lincoln felt is was his responsibility, not Congress's to end slavery.