Final answer:
True, Lincoln did suggest that the Civil War could be seen as atonement for the sin of slavery, especially as the war's goals evolved to include the end of slavery and a 'new birth of freedom' for the nation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Initially, President Abraham Lincoln's primary goal was the preservation of the Union, and not the abolition of slavery. However, as the war progressed, the abolishment of slavery became a more prominent objective.
In his famous Gettysburg Address, Lincoln framed the war as a means to ensure that the nation would have a 'new birth of freedom', and by the end of the conflict, the eradication of slavery was indeed a central theme. Although Lincoln did not believe that freeing the enslaved was the sole reason for the war at its onset, he recognized that the war's legacy included the end of slavery. Moreover, the transformative effect of the war on American society suggested a form of atonement or reparation for the institution of slavery.