First Name Last Name
Instructor
Course
November 12, 2020
Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: Were slaves freed?
Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which was the second year of the Civil War. In the first year, in a preliminary proclamation, Lincoln had stated that all persons who had been held as slaves in States and parts of States would be free. When he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, this declaration was put into effect. According to the proclamation, the states and parts of states that belonged to the Confederacy would maintain the freedom of slaves. Although he initially doubted whether the constitution allowed him such executive powers, Lincoln later realized that this action was a military necessity that fell under him as commander-in-chief provided by the constitution. He also gauged the impacts of this emancipation on the efforts of the Union war. Lincoln was aware of the several risks he was running by going forward with the document, including losing the 1864 elections. Still, as he signed the paper, he mentions that he had never been certain that he is doing the right thing more than he did when he signed the document. The signing of this document meant that Lincoln freed the slaves. However, there have been arguments that challenged that he freed the slaves. This paper explores the Emancipation Proclamation, highlighting some of the things that the document didn’t do, which resulted in whether Lincoln freed the slaves. By examining the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation, it is clear and evident that it technically freed no slaves.
To better understand how the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t free any slaves, it is important to look into the role of slaves in the Civil war, as they served as soldiers and contraband. These roles played by the slaves resulted in conflict. The document sparked a debate regarding who saved the slaves, as some argued that the slaves saved themselves by putting pressure on Lincoln, while others posited that the Civil war and Lincoln saved the slaves. Combining these two arguments contributes to the development of the argument that slaves pressurized Lincoln towards ending slavery. Still, his ultimate issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation means that Lincoln should be given credit for freeing slaves.
The Federal Slave policy
Lincoln decided Emancipation Proclamation after months of long thought and extensive planning. He tried so hard to avoid complete emancipation through rewards that would encourage states and border states to free slaves independently. Before making this major decision, Lincoln had presented the states with a compensation system, slow emancipation, and the colonization of the freed slaves. The government and the military had made several orders regarding the runaway slaves, and the Emancipation Proclamation was the final hit on the nail. When he entered office, Lincoln had no intention of freeing slaves, but he did so following the urges of both black and whites actions. He received letters pressing him to abolish slavery and allow for freed slaves into the Union Army enlisting. Despite this pressure, he declined to use the black slaves in a war to save the Union.
In July 1861, the government decided that every time slaves would escape to the Union camps, they would be returned to their military owners. However, this was not always the case as some soldiers shielded the slaves that ran within their lines and didn’t return them to their owners. The soldiers even reacted violently to the slaveholders, who claimed the slaves as their property. This situation compelled the Congress towards emancipation as it allowed for compensated emancipation of slaves in the District of Columbia. Through the Second Confiscation Act of July 1862, the slaves of traitorous owners were freed. This was followed by the provision that soldiers couldn’t return fugitive slaves to their Confederate owners.
The preliminary proclamation
The preliminary proclamation came about when Lincoln realized that he needed to free the slaves to save the Union. To achieve this, he pushed for gradual and compensated emancipation and the colonization of freed slaves. When the slaves from border states fled to Union camps, the border states still insisted on slavery, which prompted Lincoln to offer compensation in exchange for the border states’ emancipation of the slaves. This was offered to border states and other rebel states that looked to rejoin the Union. The compensation provided that the government would buy the slaves from these states than free them. Lincoln had the intention of colonizing the freed slaves. As Lorraine Williams posited, Lincoln believed that “as long as Negroes remained in the US, they would always be a source of friction because they would never be equal to the whites.”.In doing this, his major concern was the nation’s racial dynamics. Due to the war, more slaves could escape unnoticed by their owners, especially those who fought in the war. As a result of this situation, the border states were highly pressured to either allow for emancipation or pay more attention to the slaves.
Slaves were freed by the middle of 1862, following Lincoln’s careful consideration, as he finally determined that this move would save the Union. His announcement to the cabinet was an early form of the proclamation, which provided policies that made civil and military confiscation of federal property policy. During this time, the union soldiers and abolitionists had embraced emancipation, meaning it was less likely for them to return runaways to their owners. Although there was increased prejudice between blacks and whites, the war played a key role in encouraging its decline. African Americans were later allowed to serving in state militias by Congress. This move was deemed controversial because many thought that the blacks would revenge against their masters. However, others thought that slaves were great workers and deserved to be armed and included in soldiers’ rank. This showed that emancipation proved to be a divisive issue. Lincoln was still hopeful that the border states would take to abolish slavery on their own.
As a war president, Lincoln believed that his powers extended to emancipation if he believed it was the only way to save the Union or hasten the end of the civil war. According to the historian Allen Guelzo, the preliminary proclamation was entirely a military pronouncement and not a city proclamation. This is because Lincoln was acting under his war powers as provided by the constitution against the Confederacy. He adds that Lincoln didn’t free the slaves out of his high moral regard, despite being against slavery. His main objective in freeing the slaves was to save the Union, and despite the pressure he received from slaves, emancipation was still Lincoln’s call.
The public’s reaction to the preliminary proclamation was positive as the people celebrated and praised Lincoln. The media highlighted that this move was the beginning of the end of the rebellion and a new life for the nation. The soldiers reacted differently towards the proclamation as some of them concurred with the idea of freedom it presented. Some of the soldiers resigned from their commissions as they opposed the fight against war and slavery. Slavery had played a key role in causing the war, and Lincoln believed that the institution would be abolished through the emancipation proclamation and, in turn, end the war faster.
The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect.
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, fulfilling his promise of freedom to the slaves. He believed that his decision to free the slaves was an act of justice. However, the document provided for the freedom of slaves in the rebelling states, and this freedom would only last as long as Lincoln’s administration. The document also required the slaves to offer labor faithfully at a reasonable wage and not revolt against their masters. In doing this, the document considered the South need for labor and the freed persons’ need for work. It allowed the slaves to join the armed services, aiming to weaken the Confederacy. In the end, Lincoln chose immediate emancipation as he considered it a necessary and fit measure for saving the Union and hastening the end of the war. Celebrations marked the end of the Civil war and slavery as it marked a historic moment for the nation. However, for some people, the emancipation proclamation didn’t mean that the slaves were not entirely free because they were never treated as equals with the whites.
The impacts of the proclamation were received differently by the public. Some were not happy because Lincoln freed the slaves, not based on morality, but because his main objective was to save the Union. This resulted in further arguments which purported that Lincoln didn’t free the slaves. Such historians claim that Lincoln was never motivated to end slavery. His letter to Horace Greeley is used as proof. In the letter, Lincoln stated that his main objective in the struggle is to save the Union and not destroy or save slavery. He added that if it was possible to save the Union without freeing the slaves, he would do that. Most of these critics were African Americans who claimed that Lincoln was not a black friend and couldn’t risk a political fall out that would lead to emancipation, but circumstances only forced him. They mentioned that blacks had no reason to feel grateful to Lincoln. These arguments questioned the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation. They criticize that Lincoln should have sacrificed everything to the absolute good of the emancipation proclamation.
Slaves responded to the freedom granted to them in various ways. For one, they changed their names as a measure of self-respect and maintaining their manhood. Most of them sought to find their relatives that had been sold away. Other slaves moved to Union camps while some move away from slavery. The emancipation also allowed the slaves to enlist in the Union army, and most of them took advantage. These opportunities gave them a chance to prove that they were equal to the whites as they could participate in the war for their freedom. This means the slaves would not have had this opportunity if Lincoln didn’t issue the proclamation. This, in itself, is proof that Lincoln freed the slaves. They were able to fight their masters on equal terms. The black soldiers proved themselves as being capable, just like the white troops. The African American troops were no longer charged with cowardice. In summary, the Emancipation Proclamation was a way that Lincoln freed the slaves. It opposes the critics who mention that Lincoln didn’t free the slaves, although he signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves.
Assessment of Emancipation
The Emancipation Proclamation gave slaves a sense of freedom from January 1, 1863. This provides that Lincoln freed the slaves because those not freed under the proclamation were still free by January 1, 1863. Besides, the proclamation gave liberty to moral recognition. Slaves referred to President Lincoln as “Father Abraham,” following his acts against slavery. Decades later, African Americans remember when they were emancipated. To them, it didn’t matter for what reason the emancipation was proclaimed, whether it was to save the Union. They always remembered who was responsible for their freedom. The Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln proved to be a turning point for the US as it brought slavery to an end and the Civil War. As a war president, Lincoln faced several pressures from his advisors, the citizens, and the slaves. He listened to the pleas of the slaves, the commanders, and abolitionists who petitioned for emancipation. He perceived that his presidential position was the only one that could save and free the slaves. Ultimately, he was the one that signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which changed the lives of slaves, allowed them to enlist in the Union army, and got a chance to prove that they could enjoy equal rights as the whites.
Although Lincoln didn’t prioritize the freeing of slaves since his objective was to save the Union, the Emancipation Proclamation’s ultimate issuance means that Lincoln should be given credit for freeing slaves. This argument has been adequately supported throughout the paper, despite his critics’ claims, who mentioned that he was never on the side of the blacks and that he was only concerned with saving the Union. Several historians also advocate for Lincoln in his role in freeing the slaves, mentioning that the freedom of the slaves is rightfully attributed to him. He symbolically freed the slaves by hearing their pleas and listening to the urges of both blacks and whites who appealed for the emancipation of the slaves.
References
Klingaman, William K. Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865. NY, NY: Penguin Books, 2002.
Vorenberg, Michael. Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Williams, Lorraine A. “‘Northern Intellectual Reaction to the Policy of Emancipation.” The Journal of Negro History 46, no. 3 (1961): 174–88.
Blair, William Alan., and Karen Fisher. Younger. Lincoln’s Proclamation: Emancipation Reconsidered. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.
Faith, Robert O. “Lincoln’s Gamble: The Tumultuous Six Months That Gave America the Emancipation Proclamation and Changed the Course of the Civil War by Todd Brewster.” Civil War History 61, no. 4 (2015): 454–55. https://doi.org/10.1353/cwh.2015.0082.
Guelzo, Allen C. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005.