Journal 6. Roark Looks At Slavery During The War From A

As Bennett states in his article, Lincoln was opposed to the extension of slavery not out of compassion for suffering black people, but out of devotion to the interests of white people. In his Charlston speech, Lincoln stated, “I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black race, . . . I will say there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.” The speech itself shows that Lincoln was opposed to every aspect of the Emancipation Proclamation that he himself issued. Not only that, but Lincoln felt pressured to issue the Emancipation Proclamation by Radical Republicans who were pushing for it to be passed. Furthermore, if Lincoln had not issued the Proclamation, the congress would have done it. Lincoln did not want to give up his power as a president, and signed the document himself. In response to the proclamation, Bennett writes, Lincoln “freed” slaves where he had no power and left them in chains where he had power (page 137). In Lincoln and Colonization, by Richard Blackett, a historian of the abolition movement, The pressures of war forced his hand. As a result, the proclamation contained so many restrictions that observers questioned its effectiveness (page 20).

This clearly shows that Lincoln was not out for the Negro but just to preserve the union. He says in many other debates that he thought the Negro had a physical difference from the white man as well as an intellectual difference (Lincoln-Douglas, n. pag.). Lincoln was considered by many in the south to be a bigot, a white supremacist who wanted segregation and opposed civil and political rights for blacks (Oates 21). Stephen B. Oates talks of many of the theories in his book, like that many southerners concluded that Lincoln was with them in the matters of race (22). Many of these examples show that Lincoln was a hypocrite of some sorts. He would appeal to the southerners by making statements that led them to believe that he was against the Negro. Yet he was writing the emancipation proclamation that was supposed to free all of the slaves. This also is debatable that the proclamation freed any slaves at all. The emancipation proclamation is looked at by some as one of the most far-reaching pronouncements ever issued in the United States (Oates 25). Also it is said that the proclamation freed few if any bondsman (Oates 26).

Lincoln debates that the emancipation of slaves from the Emancipation Proclamation is making a big deal over really nothing. No slaves will be affected by the Emancipation Proclamation, because the people that have to enforce it will not enforce it. Lincoln compared it to how Pope Callixtus III excommunicated Halley’s Comet. The comet was seen as an omen of troubles to come to Pope Callixtus III so he just got rid of all of its affiliations from the church. Lincoln sees this as a chance to make it seem like a difference is being made in America with some slaves being set free but none really are. Lincoln also pointed out the problem if a mass amount of slaves started to come to the North for refuge. How could the North support all the slaves

o Lincoln 's reputation as the great emancipator rests largely on his emancipation proclamation, an executive order which went into effect on January 1st, 1863. This order ostensibly freed all the slaves in territory currently rebelling against the United States, i.e. in areas where the US government had no authority to free slaves. This is rather like the United States announcing that, from here on out, North Korea would be ruled by Lady Gaga. Sure, it 's a great idea, but it 's not really your jurisdiction. In areas where the US did have the authority to free slaves--the border states and some of the areas of the Confederacy that had been effectively conquered and occupied by federal troops, those slaves were not freed. So Lincoln

In school we are taught that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. This statement is reinforced continuously throughout our education, beginning from the time we are in elementary school to when we are in high school. However, it’s never really expounded upon when taught. The discussion never goes further than ‘Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation and thus freed the slaves’, but is still able to instill the implication that he did so out of his own moral values and that life for ex-slaves was better for it. The truth of the matter is actually the complete opposite. The emancipation proclamation was a purely political decision that instead of truly freeing the slaves, only served to keep them bound.

The Emancipation Proclamation is centered on the concept of freeing the slaves; however, the proclamation did not actually free any slaves but had a greater goal of preserving the Union through European alliance. The Emancipation Proclamation did not free slaves in Union controlled lands but instead freed the slaves where the federal government had no real power. At his inauguration, Lincoln even stated that he has “no lawful right [to] interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it [already] exists.” Furthermore, Lincoln revealed, in a letter to Horace Greeley that slavery is not even a primary focus of his political agenda when he stated “my paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery.” This letter also emphasizes Lincoln’s chief interest during the American Civil War – to maintain the Union. Therefore, Lincoln himself indicated that the Emancipation Proclamation’s purpose was to preserve the Union by successfully aiding in closing the door to European intervention in the South.

The Emancipation Proclamation was a carefully crafted speech that was certainly not made overnight. The country had been moving towards it gradually, beginning with the The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act in April of 1862, which freed all slaves in Washington in return for payment to their owners. The Second Confiscation Act in July of 1862. Stating that if the rebellion were to continue not to end within sixty days, the North would be sanctioned to seize rebel property, namely slaves. However, Lincoln’s ultimate goal was the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of the Constitution, not the freeing of slaves, which is clearly seen in this letter to Kentucky newspaper editor A.G. Hodges. He explains his rationale behind emancipation by stating, “I was, in my best judgment, driven to the alternative of either surrendering the Union and the Constitution, or of laying strong hand upon the colored element. I chose the latter.” Lincoln is referring to allowing African-Americans to join Union military campaigns and fight against the Confederacy. The addition of African-American soldiers would help tip the balance in their favor even more in the North’s favor, helping them to secure important victories. These former slaves

The emancipation proclamation was written by Abraham Lincoln, and it addresses the beliefs of the North as well as a strategic war plan. In the proclamation everyone enslaved was to be released, this created turmoil in the South as well as posing strong advantages to the North. It damaged the South's enslaved workforce, hurt their economy, and allowed the North to gain soldiers after general order 143. These advantages to the North where helpful to the outcome of the war and helped the North come out victorious.

The Civil War caused a shift in the ways that many Americans thought about slavery and race. Chandra Manning’s What this Cruel War Was Over helps readers understand how soldiers viewed slavery during the Civil War. The book is a narrative, which follows the life of Union soldier who is from Massachusetts. Chandra Manning used letters, diaries and regimental newspapers to gain an understanding of soldiers’ views of slavery. The main character, Charles Brewster has never encountered slaves. However, he believes that Negroes are inferior. He does not meet slaves until he enters the war in the southern states of Maryland and Virginia. Charles Brewster views the slaves first as contraband. He believes the slaves are a burden and should be sent back to their owners because of the fugitive slave laws. Union soldiers focus shifted before the end of the war. They believed slavery was cruel and inhumane, expressing strong desire to liberate the slaves. As the war progresses, soldiers view slaves and slavery in a different light. This paper, by referring to the themes and characters presented in Chandra Manning’s What this Cruel War Was Over, analyzes how the issue of slavery and race shifted in the eyes of white Union soldiers’ during Civil War times.

In Document B, Lincoln gives his speech to a religious group in Chicago, before the Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect. There he was selling the idea that the blacks should be freed, but making sure that his audience knew what precautions he wanted to avoid (e.g., arming the blacks, which could lead to the hands of the rebels stated in Document B). In another speech, in Document E, Lincoln is reciting a speech to the Democratic Party, his opposing party; which shows that he was talking to all groups, not just his own. He tells the Democrats, that they cannot avoid slavery if they want to preserve the Union. He stated in Document E, “I issued the proclamation on purpose to aid you in saving the Union.” Lincoln explains that the Emancipation Proclamation was put into order to help the Democrats save the Union. However, this is not really one of Lincoln’s reasons for the proclamation. He is basically just having the Democrats agree on his new order in order to help/ join the war. Lincoln uses his mind tricks to make the Democratic Party feel guilty for not aiding/fighting to free the “negroes,” quoted in Document E; which at this time in August 26, 1863, the South is winning the war. Because the South is winning the war, the Emancipation Proclamation was made to mislead/ trick Europe into entering the war. Lincoln is using his experience of being a lawyer to

During his election campaign and throughout the early years of the Civil War, Lincoln vehemently denied the rumour that he would mount an attack on slavery. At the outbreak of fighting, he pledged to 'restore the Union, but accept slavery where it existed ', with Congress supporting his position via the Crittendon-Johnson Resolutions. However, during 1862 Lincoln was persuaded for a number of reasons that Negro emancipation as a war measure was both essential and sound. Public opinion seemed to be going that way, Negro slaves were helping the Southern war effort, and a string of defeats had left Northern morale low. A new moral boost to the cause might give weary Union soldiers added impetus in the fight. Furthermore, if the Union fought against slavery, Britain and France could not help the other side, since their 'peculiar institution ' was largely abhorred in both European nations. Having eased the American public into the idea, through speeches that hinted at emancipation, Lincoln finally signed the Proclamation on January 1st 1863, releasing all slaves behind rebel lines. Critics argued that the proclamation went little further than the Second Confiscation Act and it conveniently failed to release prisoners behind Union lines. Nevertheless, Henry Adams summed up public reaction to the Proclamation as an 'almost convulsive reaction in our favour '.

\The Emancipation Proclamation was created by Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves, but then what? Historian: Eric Foner’s The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery , Richard Striner’s Father Abraham: Lincoln’s Relentless Struggle To End Slavery , James Oakes essay Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865, James M. McPherson, Henry Louis Gates’s Lincoln on Race & Slavery, Lerone Bennett Jr. Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream,

On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, issued the first, or preliminary, Emancipation Proclamation. In this document he warned that unless the states of the Confederacy returned to the Union by January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves to be “forever free.” During the Civil War, he was fighting to save the Union and trying not to free the slaves. Lincoln was quoted to say, “I am not, nor have ever been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races.” The Emancipation Proclamation illustrated this view.

Lincoln believed that he had “no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists.” Lincoln continues and says, “I believe that I have not lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so” (Majewaki, pg. 70). Lincoln was a humble politician. He in no way wanted to endanger the unity of the nation.

"He prudently took advantage of the exigencies of war to maneuver the nation toward his moral goal" (Johnson and Guelzo). This illustrates that Lincoln wanted to get the "Emancipation Proclamation" address out in the world really quickly, so that he could eventually win the civil war and also try to end slavery for that little period of time. The author Abraham Lincoln had many purposes of writing the speech about the emancipation of the slaves.