DK - The American Civil War

against slavery, obliged the president to
act decisively—he had, after all, run for
the White House in 1860 on a platform
devoted to restricting the institution’s
spread into the territories.
Federal generals had already flirted
with emancipation in various different
locations, which posed a threat to the
political effect and long-term
moral value of a presidentially
issued policy. In August 1861,
Union General John C.
Frémont tried to emancipate
all the slaves in Missouri by a
simple military declaration. In
May 1862, General David
Hunter did the same for the
slaves of Florida, Georgia, and
South Carolina.

Careful preparation
Lincoln acknowledged the
good intentions behind
these military efforts at
emancipation, but was forced
to overrule both generals’
edicts. Too few people in
the North were ready to
consider the freeing of slaves
as an additional Federal war
aim, and a premature or
partial emancipation might
force one or more of the
border states into seceding.
Missouri, especially, was
still close to the tipping
point. The Supreme Court,
headed by pro-slavery
Chief Justice Roger Taney,
was another potential
problem. Taney had
the power to declare
a rash emancipation
proclamation as
unconstitutional, thereby
creating huge obstacles for
the government.
Lincoln had much to consider before
acting. His delays and apparent
wavering enraged some members of the
Republican Party in Congress, who

recruitment of free black citizens into

segregated regiments, but now recently

liberated slaves could join them as well.

In Democratic parts of the North,

especially in districts that had voted

against Lincoln in 1860, many whites

frowned upon the new war measure.

Activities increased among Copperheads

(Northern Democrats opposed to the

war), and newspaper editors blasted the

administration for abandoning the

preservation of the Union and embracing

emancipation instead. One Union

regiment drawn from an area like this

deserted almost to a man upon hearing

the news. But in most sections of the

loyal states, public opinion was

cautiously optimistic that emancipation

might hasten the end of the war.

claimed that if the president

continued to prevaricate, they

themselves would have to take action.

They had already passed several

Confiscation Acts that allowed Union

generals to confiscate and use rebel

property, including slaves.

Even as the pressure on him

mounted, Lincoln remained determined

to wait until the time was right to issue

his formal policy. He believed that only

he as president, through constitutionally

sanctioned war powers, had the ability

to enforce emancipation. He later

explained, “I felt the measures,

otherwise unconstitutional, might

become lawful, by becoming

indispensable to the preservation

of the Constitution, through the

preservation of the nation.”

Carefully timing the release of

the Preliminary Proclamation in

September 1862 allowed Lincoln

to prepare the way for the Final

Emancipation Proclamation, which

formally went into effect on January 1,

1863. Technically, the Final
      Proclamation only freed slaves in the
      rebellious states, leaving all those in the
      border states and in Union-held portions
      of the Confederate states still in
      bondage. Those deep behind Southern
      lines would have to await the arrival of
      Union armies to enforce their liberation.
      Indeed, in many areas of Texas and
      southern Georgia, slaves knew nothing
      about Lincoln’s proclamation until well
      after the war was over.
      Anywhere near Union lines, however,
      and even in locations at a considerable
      distance from Union forces, rumors
      quickly spread among slave communities
      that they were now free. To some degree,
      slaves had been taking matters into their
      own hands and slipping off to
      freedom since the war began,
      especially in Virginia, Tennessee,
      and Louisiana, where Union
      armies had occupied large
      swaths of former rebel territory.
      Now, in ones and twos and small
      groups, slaves left with a
      conviction, a feeling, or just an
      idea that the “day of Jubilo”
      (liberation) had come and that
      they were truly free to go. Many
      went straight to the Union
      armies, where they found work
      cooking, nursing wounded
      soldiers, and caring for horses.

Freedom at last

In the free black communities

of the North, the response

to the Emancipation

Proclamation was electric.

Henry Turner, pastor of an

African Methodist Church

in Washington, D.C., was present

as the Proclamation was printed

off in a local newspaper: “Down

Pennsylvania [Avenue] I ran

as for my life, and when the

people saw me coming with the

paper in my hand they raised a

shouting cheer that was almost

deafening.” It was from such

heartfelt enthusiasm that

thousands of black volunteers for

the Union army were raised. This

Final Emancipation Proclamation

included a provision for enlisting

former slaves in the army and navy,

and thus the seeds for the United States

Colored Troops (USCT) were sown.

Various states had already begun

THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

In Europe, the British Prime Minister Lord

Palmerston and the French Emperor

Napoleon III had been cautiously

sympathetic toward the Confederates.

EUROPE BACKS AWAY

News of the Emancipation Proclamation, along

with Southern general Robert E. Lee’s retreat

from Maryland, changed the minds of Lord

Palmerston and the British cabinet. They

postponed plans to recognize

Confederate independence and

offer mediation between the

warring sections. The

British Empire, which had

freed its slaves in 1833,

could not morally

support a slaveholding

republic against a nation

that fought to make men

free. France followed

Britain’s lead.

AFTER

Eckert’s inkwells
Lincoln liked to work in the telegraph office of the War
Department while waiting for news. Here he started
drafting his Emancipation Proclamation, using the desk—
and inkwells—of Major Thomas Eckert.

BRITISH PRIME

MINISTER PALMERSTON

Hiding out

In Fugitive Slaves in the Dismal Swamp, Virginia (1888),

artist David Cronin depicts a favorite place of refuge on

the border of Virginia and North Carolina, where

hundreds of slaves managed to hide out.

Emancipation Proclamation

Declaring “that all persons held as slaves” within the

rebel states “are, and henceforward shall be free,” the

Proclamation went on to “enjoin upon [the freed slaves] ...

to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence;

and ... labor faithfully for reasonable wages.”