Final answer:
False, Lincoln did not predict a quick end to the war; initially, the war was not about freeing slaves, a position that evolved over time. The Emancipation Proclamation changed the war's moral purpose but did not immediately end the conflict. Border States were hesitant to adopt the Thirteenth Amendment.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is false that Abraham Lincoln predicted the war would be over soon at its onset. Initially, Lincoln did not explicitly state that the Civil War was being fought to free the slaves. The primary goal was to preserve the Union. However, as the war progressed, Lincoln's position evolved, culminating in the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This document declared that all enslaved people in the rebelling states were to be free, though it had little immediate practical effect in those territories due to their state of rebellion.
Despite Lincoln's hope, the Emancipation Proclamation did not bring an immediate end to the war, but it did change the moral character and objectives of the conflict, gaining support from abolitionists and affecting the Confederacy's ability to get international recognition. Moreover, Lincoln's re-election in 1864 was aided by Union victories, suggesting his leadership and policies, including those towards slavery, were gaining broader approval as the war dragged on.
The Thirteenth Amendment, which was the constitutional amendment that formally abolished slavery, was not swiftly and willingly implemented by Border States. They were slow to accept Lincoln's proposals for gradual, compensated emancipation, as the answer to the test question implies with its assertion of 'False'.
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