Abraham Lincoln

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Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln had given much thought to the problem of slavery, and he was under continual pressure from the Jacobins and the abolitionists to free the slaves. On April 16, 1862, he signed a bill that abolished slavery in Washington, D.C., with compensation to the slaveholders and voluntary colonization in tropical lands for the slaves. This bill was similar to the one Lincoln proposed in Congress years earlier.

As much as Lincoln abhorred slavery, the political situation prevented him from freeing the slaves elsewhere. The slaveholding border state of Kentucky was key to Union policy. Because of its strategic location on the Ohio River, which would have made an easily defended border for the South, it had to be kept in the Union. And, in his inaugural address, Lincoln had promised not to interfere with slavery. To do so would have meant the loss of Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky to the Confederacy. Consequently, in 1861, when Major General John C. Frémont freed the slaves in his military district in Missouri, and in May 1862, when Major General David Hunter freed the slaves in his southern military district, Lincoln rescinded their orders. His patience was rewarded, for the border states remained loyal.

By July 1862, through a combination of military pressure, arrest of dissenters, and respect for neutrals, the border states appeared to be safely in the Union. At this time Lincoln informed the Cabinet of his decision to emancipate (free) the slaves. On Seward's advice, he withheld the proclamation until it could be coupled with the announcement of a Union military victory.

On September 22, 1862, immediately after Antietam, Lincoln issued his preliminary Proclamation of Emancipation. In this document, Lincoln announced that on January 1, 1863, all slaves residing in a rebellious state would “be then, thenceforward, and forever free...” With this 100-day warning, Lincoln gave the rebellious states an opportunity to rejoin the Union with slavery intact. Lincoln did not have the power to free the slaves except as a necessity of war. The proclamation was a military decree, directed only at those states at war with the Union.

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The Emancipation Proclamation was formally issued on January 1, 1863. It did not affect border states in the Union or areas in the rebellious states under federal control. For these states, Lincoln encouraged voluntary, compensated emancipation. To assure the legality of emancipation, Lincoln pressed for the passage of a constitutional amendment that would bar slavery from the United States forever. Later, acceptance of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution became a condition whereby Southern states were readmitted to the Union.

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Effects of Emancipation

The Emancipation Proclamation hastened the defeat of the Confederacy because it deprived the South of much-needed labor. About 3.5 million black slaves, out of a total population of 9.5 million, had grown the food and fiber needed by the Confederate Army. They had also dug trenches, built fortifications and served as teamsters for the army. In the proclamation, Lincoln invited the blacks to join the Union Army. Almost 186,000 former slaves did so. Most of them served behind the lines, thus freeing regular soldiers for active duty. Those who saw action fought bravely.

The Emancipation Proclamation also isolated the Confederacy from potential allies in Europe. As the North suffered defeat after defeat, France and Britain threatened to recognize the Confederate government and give it aid. The cause of Union doubtless meant nothing to the people of these countries, but the cause of freedom did. Freeing the slaves brought them and their governments over to the Northern side.

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A Succession of Defeats

From the high point of Antietam, the political and military situation worsened. In the autumn elections the Republicans lost control of five states, including Illinois. The North was becoming tired of the war.

When McClellan refused to take the offensive after Antietam, Lincoln replaced him with Major General Ambrose E. Burnside. In December 1862, Burnside was defeated by Lee at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Union casualties exceeded 12,000, and the cry went up for new political and military leadership. The war also went badly in the West. Major General Don C. Buell was sent to take eastern Tennessee, where Union sentiment was strong. Like McClellan, however, he was too cautious and the Confederate army of General Braxton Bragg, eluded him. Lincoln then replaced him with Major General William S. Rosecrans. In December, “Old Rosey” repulsed Bragg at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, but the battle losses were so great that his army was out of action for months.

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Cabinet Crisis

In December 1862, Lincoln faced a crisis in his Cabinet. Secretary of the Treasury Chase had sought the support of the Jacobins to strengthen his chances for the Republican presidential nomination of 1864. These radical Republicans, looking for an opportunity to discredit Lincoln, turned against Secretary of State Seward, a former radical who now agreed with the president on most matters. They demanded that Seward be removed from the Cabinet and replaced as secretary of state by Chase. Lincoln needed Seward in the Cabinet, but he also needed Chase and the support of the radical wing of the party. It took all of Lincoln's great political skill to remain in control of his Cabinet and party.

Seward, unwilling to embarrass the president, resigned at once. Lincoln then called a meeting in which the other Cabinet members and the Jacobin senators were present. Confronted with his fellow Cabinet members, Chase could not attack Seward and Lincoln as he had done in private with the senators. Chase offered to resign. Lincoln refused to accept either his or Seward's resignation, and the two men returned to their posts. Chase and his allies now knew that in Lincoln they faced a skilled and resolute politician.

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Growth of the Union

The Civil War stimulated industry and agriculture in the North and West. The Union grew at a rapid rate. Between 1861 and 1865, 800,000 Europeans immigrated to the North, and 300,000 emigrants traveled west to settle in California and Oregon. To promote settlement, Lincoln signed three important acts in 1862. The Homestead Act offered settlers 65 hectares (160 acres) of Western land each (see Homestead Laws). The settler had only to reside on and use the land for five years and pay a nominal fee to the government. The Morrill Act gave the states free land to establish agricultural and mechanical colleges. The Pacific Railway Act incorporated the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads for the construction of a transcontinental railroad, which had long been a national goal to speed the development of the West. During Lincoln's administration, Kansas, Nevada, and West Virginia (the part of Virginia loyal to the Union) were granted statehood.

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