“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.
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
Christmas Special: George Wishes Some Hessians a Merry F’ing Christmas
8: From Independence to NY (meeting A. Ham, Nathan Hale & Charles Lee is a Sneaky Bastard)
7: An Olive Branch Rejected, Tom's a Royal Pain(e), & the Siege of Boston
6: "The Shot Heard Round the World"
5: "Delenda est Bostonia:" a Congress, Paul Rides, & the First Shot at Lexington
4: "Boston Harbor A Tea-Pot This Night:" The Boston Tea Party
3: "Clean My Sh*t House!" The Boston Massacre
2: Patrick Henry and Boston Get Pissed about Taxes
1: That One Time When George Washington Sort of Triggered an International War
0: Preamble
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