Lincoln actually issued the Emancipation Proclamation twice
Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862. It stipulated that if the Southern states did not cease their rebellion by January 1st, Then Proclamation would go into effect. When the Confederacy did not yield, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863. Lincoln’s advisors did not initially support the Emancipation Proclamation. Many of the cabinet secretaries were apathetic, or worse, worried that the Proclamation was too radical. It was only Lincoln’s firm commitment to the necessity and justice of the Proclamation.
The Battle of Antietam provided the necessary Union "victory" to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
President Lincoln had first proposed the Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet in July 1862, but Secretary of State William Seward suggested waiting for a Union victory so that the government could prove that it could enforce the Proclamation.
The Union army was able to drive the Confederates out of Maryland enough of a victory, that Lincoln felt comfortable issuing the Emancipation just five days later.
The Union army was able to drive the Confederates out of Maryland enough of a victory, that Lincoln felt comfortable issuing the Emancipation just five days later.
The Emancipation Proclamation was a firm demonstration of the President’s executive war powers. The Southern states used slaves to support their armies on the field and to manage the home front so more men could go off to fight. President Lincoln shrewdly justified the Emancipation Proclamation as a fit and necessary war measure in order to cripple the Confederacy’s use of slaves in the war effort.
Lincoln also declared that the Proclamation would be enforced under his power as Commander in Chief, and that the freedom of the slaves would be maintained by the Executive government of the United States.
Lincoln also declared that the Proclamation would be enforced under his power as Commander in Chief, and that the freedom of the slaves would be maintained by the Executive government of the United States.
* * * Discussion Questions * * *
1. The Confederate states largely seceded in order to protect slavery and Slave Power even though President Lincoln argued he had no power to regulate slavery. In what way was secession the worst thing they could have done to protect slavery?
2. It has been noted by more than one scholar that the slaves deserve more credit for ending slavery than Lincoln. How is this so?
2. It has been noted by more than one scholar that the slaves deserve more credit for ending slavery than Lincoln. How is this so?
Primary Sources
The legal status of slaves and "freed" slaves was debated throughout the war and eventually culminated in the famous Emancipation Proclamation. The road to Emancipation was neither simple nor direct. The following links examine the various legal and Constitution arguments surrounding the complicated issue of distinguishing between property and men.