“My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.”
– Abraham Lincoln, in his Letter to Horace Greeley (August 22nd, 1862)
On September 22nd, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued what is sometimes called the “Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.” In it, he basically said that if the Southern states were not back in the Union by New Year's Day 1863, then he would free their slaves. (The actual Emancipation Proclamation came on New Year's Day itself, when he actually did so.) One commentator actually said that it's “the dullest thing you ever read.” With two possible exceptions, neither one has any soaring rhetoric or ringing phrases, and “here was a guy who could do that,” as this commentator said. Why did Lincoln choose not to do that with the Emancipation Proclamations (and there are actually two of them)?
First reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln
At that time, it was easier to persuade people to support emancipation on military grounds ...
I think that he made a deliberate decision not to do that, for at least two reasons. One is that he was not yet ready to turn this into a war for “universal freedom.” The Northern public was not yet ready to support open war against slavery, so moral arguments would have had little traction with them at this time. For them, the more persuasive parts of the actual Emancipation Proclamation were that it was “upon military necessity” (by draining the South's workforce), that it was “a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion,” and that the former slaves of “suitable condition” would be received into the “armed service” of the United States – thus augmenting the still-unsatisfactory numbers of the Union's armed forces. Lincoln did say that this act was “sincerely believed to be an act of justice,” but he was not yet ready to make arguments for the “moral necessity of ending slavery” being a part of this justice. Indeed, the actual Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in rebel states, as you may know, and did not free all of the slaves everywhere in the Union (as the morality argument would have demanded).
African American soldiers fighting in the Civil War, as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation
This document was meant to be a sound legal document ...
The other reason seems to be that this was meant to be a sound legal document. Both proclamations had legal significance, and thus had to clearly state what those carrying it out were to do. This is why it spent so much time clarifying which states – or, in some cases, parts of states – that this policy was to apply to (including these areas in a list). This is why it also said that “on the first day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
Areas covered by the Emancipation Proclamation are in red –
Slave holding areas not covered are in blue
Even the parts that ring loudest to modern ears were primarily designed to be legally sound ...
To modern ears, that part about “then, thenceforward, and forever free” certainly rings very loud and clear; but at the time, it was probably designed more to clarify the intended timetable of emancipation for legal purposes. For example, “thenceforward” seems to have meant that the emancipation was to begin immediately on New Year's Day, rather than after the war was finished. And “forever” seems to have meant that it was to be perpetual, rather than something that would last only for the duration of the war. These things had to be clarified for legal purposes, of course, so Lincoln thus risked the unpopularity of a phrase that was likely to ring with the praise of universal freedom – a then-unpopular proposition in the United States. However, emancipation was likely to be much more popular in Great Britain. For Lincoln, this was an important consideration in releasing the Proclamation, because there was actually a real danger that the British would intervene on the Confederate side. After the Proclamation, though, this danger would soon pass, meaning that the Union's war efforts would be unhindered by foreign intervention.
First page of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
... and to clarify the intended timetable of emancipation for legal purposes
The actual Emancipation Proclamation of New Year's Day 1863 also made clear the intended timetable of emancipation as well. It said that “all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free.” The words “are” and “henceforward” thus clarified that this emancipation was to begin immediately. And the words “shall be” reinforced the earlier language of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation – later quoted in the actual Emancipation Proclamation – about its lasting “forever.” “Shall be” certainly implied this, even if it did not state it explicitly (and the earlier quote from the prior version did state it explicitly – something that was quite significant in establishing a timetable).
First page of the actual Emancipation Proclamation
It was only in the Gettysburg Address that Lincoln later made morality-based arguments in favor of emancipation ...
It was only when Lincoln later gave his Gettysburg Address on November 19th, 1863 that he made any mention of a more morality-based argument for universal freedom. His exact words were that “we here highly resolve … that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom.” This is part of why the Gettysburg Address is so important to us. It is not just a great speech about a group of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice (although it certainly was that) – it is a resounding revision of the cause for which they had done so – a cause which had previously been based just on “sav[ing] the Union,” as noted earlier. This reversed his prior policy of downplaying the morality aspects of emancipation.
Photograph of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg – three hours before the Gettysburg Address, 1863
Abraham Lincoln's signature is present on the amendment that abolished slavery, even though his signature was not legally required ...
Later on, slavery was abolished completely by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Although President Lincoln's signature was not legally required for the amendment's passage, President Lincoln did insist on the privilege of signing it anyway. Thus, his signature is present on the original document of the Thirteenth Amendment, making clear his true feelings about slavery.
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
– Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (ratified 1865), which bears Abraham Lincoln's signature
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Frederick Douglass: The forgotten antislavery leader
A review of PBS's “The Abolitionists”
The Gettysburg Address explained
Some anecdotes about Abraham Lincoln's legal education
A review of PBS's “Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided”
A review of Steven Spielberg's “Lincoln”
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American history
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