“The Proclamation is the drawing of a sword that can never be sheathed again.”
This is the story of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Anti-slavery, moderate-Republican President Abraham Lincoln has never liked slavery. He wants to prevent it from expanding to new US territories. But he also never intended to go on the offensive against the “peculiar institution” within those states where it already exists. The Illinois Rail-Splitter knows the law; he’s aware that the constitution protects slavery at the state level.
Then the Civil War came. As the South breaks away from the Union, the North breaks philosphically on slavery. The abolitionists say ending slavery must be a war aim. The Democrats and border-states say this war is only about preserving the Union. Moderate Republicans and still others are mixed. Meanwhile, enslaved Americans within the Confederacy are seeking refuge in Federal army camps. How should Union Generals respond? Can they give sanctuary without upsetting the border-states that may still join the Confederacy? And do seceded states still have constitutional rights? Or does war mean the president can use his constitutional war powers to end slavery among rebelling states by proclamation? And if he does … what will that outcome be?
The questions are boundless. The answers are unknowable without taking the plunge. Your move, President Lincoln.
24: From Granny to Old Ironsides: The Campaigns of 1812 and 1813.
23: Prelude to America's Forgotten War
22: An Affair of Honor: Alexander Hamilton & Aaron Burr
21: Thomas Jefferson Presents: Lewis & Clark’s Excellent Expedition
20: "A Wolf by the Ears": Gabriel Rebels and Cotton Becomes King
19: The Traitor and The Thieving Spy: The Start of American Industrialization
18: Affairs! Foreign and ..."Domestic"
Historians (of The) Roundtable: I
17: Death of a Nation's Father
16: The Founding Fractures: Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson
Epilogue To The Revolution; Or The Big Stuff You Should’ve Caught
Q&A with The HTDS Team
15: “We the People:” Constitution Making in Philly
14: Peace in Paris; Turmoil in New York
13: The World Turns Upside Down at Yorktown
12: An American Judas Betrays & Nathanael Greene Saves!
Second Edition Episodes: A Discussion
11: Southern Discomfort: Savannah & Charleston Captured, Slavery, Massacres, & 1779’s Sundries
10: Dueling, Life Sucks at Valley Forge, von Steuben's Cool & the Battle of Monmouth
9: (Almost) Everything Important in 1777--Saratoga, Lafayette & George Returns Gen. Howe’s Dog
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