Controversy Over Lincoln\'s First Emancipation

Controversy Over Lincoln's First Emancipation

The Strategy Behind Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation

Slavery is in conflict with Democracy," many players within the American political scene of the Civil War were strong opponents of the institution of slavery. In 1863, then president Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, effectively freeing the slaves currently held in the rebellious Confederate States. Lincoln had initially met much resistance in his goal to rid the nation of the institution of slavery based on the allocation of such decisions left to the states. However, the inevitable Civil War provided Lincoln with his opportunity to reach his goals through morphing it into an effective military strategy aimed at solidifying the Union while going for the Achilles' heel of the Southern economy and military might. Under martial law, Lincoln ensured himself complete power to make such controversial executive decisions over such heated institutions.

The practice and institution of slavery had plagued the American continent since its earliest days. Despite the economic benefits of free labor, the country had been largely divided on the moral implications and complications of the institution of slavery. For generations, both citizens and members of the government had shown their moral and political opposition to the well engrained practice, "notwithstanding that slavery is one of the most corrupt and dangerous institutions in our country, and has been so considered, for many years, by many of our wisest and best statesmen, north and south." Many Northern abolitionists also called for Lincoln to pursue the end of slavery more vehemently. For years, Republican politicians and abolitionist activists had been calling for the end of the immoral institution of slavery, "The President expressed the belief that, without the Proclamation for which they had been clamoring, the Radicals would take the extreme step in Congress of withholding supplies for carrying on the war, leaving the whole land in anarchy." However, many believed that a Federal law or proclamation would be overstepping the boundaries of the Federal Government's role as outlined by Constitutional context. So for years, the American government could not see eye-to-eye with one another over the hotbed issue of slavery; "It marks, indeed, the sharp and abrupt beginning of the Great Divide."

Although Lincoln himself had long sought to weaken the inhumane institution of slavery within pre-Antebellum America, he had met strong initial resistance to such actions. He did not hold the Constitutional authority to abolish any activity previously allocated to the States. Lincoln was bound to his duties to uphold the statements of the Constitution. It was a commonly held belief that "Every man, who is a friend to our government as our forefathers gave it to us, and who holds the Constitution of this country sacred, must admit there is no power given in the Constitution of the United States." The founders of the original Constitution had originally left to each independent state to determine the legality of slavery. Congress had some affect in the number of slave states entering the United States, as seen in the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which had limited the number of slave states my forcing one slave state to enter with one free state. However, Congress never truly won any other Federal control over slavery within the nation, "there is no power given in the Constitution for the Presidency or Congress to abolish a state institution, for they are sovereign states, and have a right to regulate their own internal affairs." Tensions between the North and South eventually erupted, and Lincoln faced the task of upholding the American constitution while at the same time trying to quell a rebellion. In the middle of a conflict to keep the Union together under the initial Constitution drafted by the early American Revolutionaries, Lincoln could in no way overstep the limitations of the Federal Government. Acting in such an unconstitutional manner in the middle of a rebellion would only lessen the reputation of the Northern leader in a time where no such chances could be made. One consequence of trumped up Federal power at the wrong moment could have driven Border States to secede themselves.

Therefore, Lincoln attempted to pass legislation through traditional methods, and acting in full accordance of Constitutional power. These attempts, however, were met ultimately with failure. Before the actual onslaught of the War, Lincoln had attempted to pass resolutions and compromises within the scope of the limited amount of power given to him in regards to the aspect of slavery as set in the Constitution. He had logically drafted legislation which would have compensated Southern plantation owners for their loss of property in order to free the slaves, while not putting the South at an extreme disadvantage. This was a reasonable solution that did not play favorites between the North and the South. The North wanted slavery abolished, and with this plan the South would not be robbed of their Constitutional right to own slaves as property. Through proper compensation, the South would have not lost property, but only the continuance of the massive free labor force which drove the Southern economy. In regards to this and other criticisms, Lincoln's plan was shot down. Eventually tensions mounted high enough to cause Southern states to secede from the Union, effectively splitting the nation in two. This ended any Federal attempt to end slavery until the issue of the Emancipation Proclamation which effectively ended the practice of slavery within the hostile Southern states who had left the Union to form the independent Confederate States.

With the inevitable onslaught of the Civil War, Lincoln finally had an opportunity to fully act on his desires to curb slavery and reunite the Union under the original government. "The President has thought best, for the safety of our country and the only means left to him, of restoring our nation, as commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing rebellion, to declare that persons held as slaves, in certain states and parts of states which are in open rebellion against the government, are forever free." In a direct action against the seceded Southern states, Lincoln proclaimed their treasured slaves free. Lincoln commences his plan strategically, in order to ensure the legality of his actions under such scrutiny. Along with his true supporters, Lincoln maintained support of potential Border States when he targeted Southern slaves, "We, the undersigned, hereby express to you our cordial approval of your late Proclamation of Prospective Emancipation, as a measure intrinsically right, and necessary to secure for the country a righteous and permanent piece." Lincoln had maintained support from the majority of the American public in his move to end slavery within the states which were revoking their rights within the union through secession. Despite the quiet military strategies within this move, for thousands of Americans, this was a moral issue which gained support, "we earnestly hope that it may be carried into full effect." With the support of the Northern Union, Lincoln went ahead and issued the first Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862. After much debate and controversy coming from Southern alliances, Lincoln continued to be supported by the American public. This then lead him to publish his final draft of the Proclamation in January of 1863. Both versions outlined hostile Southern states as war zone territories, and that he needed such strong Federal power to free the slaves in order to effectively but the Union back together in an attempt to resolve the split which had divided the nation into two separate and fighting countries.

In the midst of a rebellion previously unseen on American soil, "in a time of actual armed rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States," Lincoln took complete control with his evocation of his wartime power as commander-in-chief. Before the war, Lincoln was limited to what he could do with the institution of slavery, "But [...] there is a war power given to the commander-in-chief of the army and navy in extreme cases which would justify him in resorting to every means in his power for the salvation of our country." In this position, Lincoln issued his famous Proclamation which called for the end of slavery in strategically selected states. He made sure to prove his strength with this powerful move which effectively ended constitutional slavery within the context of major Southern economies dependent on the free labor, "all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." With this Proclamation, Lincoln solidified the nature of the conflict with the South. This was a direct attack on the Confederate strength and livelihood. It has its purest base within Lincoln's own idea of morality, but was carried out in true military style.

While the nation was in a complete state of emergency, Lincoln was allowed to have supreme control over the army and navy as commander-in-chief. He then continues to use the concept of the Proclamation as a strategic military move in order to take a fundamental structural block out from under the military might of the rural South, "And by the virtue of the power, and for the purposes aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States are, and henceforward shall be free." Without a fundamental leg of the Southern structure taken out from underneath the Confederacy, Lincoln gained a strategic advantage. He did so using complete military preconceptions in order to carefully avoid breaking the peacetime rules and regulations set forth by the American Constitution.

Thanks to the free labor of the slaves, the South had more than enough white men willing to fight. Tons of able-bodied young men enlisted and left home, but the economy was not drastically affected due to the fact that there were still laborers available to support the war effort. Therefore, freeing the slaves in the rebellious States, Lincoln was encouraging a mass escape which would strike a crucial blow in the infrastructure of the Confederacy. Unlike other wars both before and after the Civil War, America had rarely shown the man power of a nation in war such as the South had done. The economy was still able to thrive with the fact that there was little to no labor shortages during the beginning of the war. However, the Emancipation Proclamation but a hug dent in the war machine of the South. With millions of slaves running from their plantations to head North, the South was dealt a crippling blow which slowed the force of the economy and war machine. Now the South had to over compensate for their lack of workers at home, just as the North had been doing all along during the duration of the Civil War.

One further justification of the Emancipation was the belief that droves of slaves would flee North and willingly support the Union's war effort. Despite the belief that the Proclamation, in its inception and in its motive, had nothing to do with the employment of slave laborers in the army," many Northern supporters believed that droves of former slaves would enlist with the Union, and therefore strengthen their own fighting force. Within the Proclamation itself, Lincoln states "And I further declare and make known that such persons, of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service." Lincoln initiated the Emancipation Proclamation for strategic military advantages as well. His proclamation freed millions of slaves both in the remaining Union, and those who had run from the shackles of the Confederacy. This then opened up thousands of qualified men to fight for the Union cause.

Lastly to show the strategic nature of Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, one needs to examine his strategic dealings with slave states who stayed loyal to the Union. Lincoln strategically chose which "states and parts of states" this proclamation would apply to, "In his interview with the Representatives of the Border States, held on the 10th of March 1862, Mr. Lincoln had said that, as long as he remained President, the people of Maryland (and therefore of the other Border States) had nothing to fear for their particular domestic institution either by direct action of the Government or by indirect action, as through the emancipation of the slaves in the District of Colombia, or the confiscation of Southern property as slaves." He had even negotiated with slave states still in the Union to protect their own interests, showing the true military side of the Proclamation. Many mistake the Emancipation Proclamation as the document which freed all the slaves on the American continent, both within and without of the Union itself. However, the documents which had accomplished that feat came in the form of Congressional Amendments to the Constitution which were passed after the end of the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves within specific chosen territories already held by Confederate troops, "in which he orders and declares all slaves within ten of the States of the Confederacy to be free, except such as are found within certain districts now occupied by the armed forces of the enemy." Many states that had stayed loyal within the Union were not affected by the Proclamation, in a strategic move to keep those Border States from seceding into the Confederate hold.

Due to the high level of controversy surrounding the entire debate of slavery, Lincoln's decision will continue to be one of praise and debate, "No other act of Mr. Lincoln's has been so warmly praised on one hand, or so warmly denounced on the other; and perhaps it has sometimes been equally misunderstood, in its real nature and bearing by those who have praised it and those who have denounced it." Lincoln caused an uproar of criticism and controversy in the Southern Confederacy with his bold move. Southern radicals claimed that Lincoln was overstepping his boundaries and therefore justifying the very reason the states had seceded in the first place. Jefferson Davis, the President of the short-lived Confederacy, had his own views of Lincoln's proclamation, Many viewed what Lincoln did as unconstitutional, "Both before and after the actual commencement of hostilities the President of the United States repeated in formal official communication to the cabinets of Great Britain and France that he was utterly without constitutional power to the act which he has just committed." Lincoln's eventual actions left many in the South utterly stunned at his decision to override the Constitution in favor for a state of war type government which had given him much more power than anticipated by the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis himself could not digest Lincoln's actions in a manner which still held the American Constitution as legal law within the Union, "was there any authority by virtue of which he could either restore a disaffected State to the Union by force of arms or make any change in any of its institutions." To those die hard Confederates, this was the biggest sign of disrespect Lincoln could have commenced onto the newly formed Confederacy, made up of former Southern states. This was the absolute show of power which the Confederacy sought to avoid with its promise t keep the sanctity of state legislation. Too many in the South the Emancipation Proclamation had "established a state of things which can lead to but one of three possible consequences -- the extermination of the slaves, the exile of the whole white population from the Confederacy, or absolute and total separation of these States from the United States." To the Confederacy, this was just another example of the exact reasons they had seceded. This break from Constitutionality within Lincoln's protocol represented the final blow to the Southern conscience. The South began to further realize the dire nature of the situation, and the extremities which the Civil War would eventually go to. With this understanding, the desperation of the South began to take hold and eventually caused its decline.