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Abraham Lincoln
6
The Emancipation Proclamation
Issued January 1, 1863
The president frees the slaves
B
y the time President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) issued
his final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863,
he had been considering the idea of freeing the slaves for
some time. Lincoln had believed that slavery was wrong
when he was elected president in 1860. He felt that black people were entitled to the same legal rights as white people.
When the Civil War began in 1861, he knew that freeing the
slaves would hurt the Confederate war effort and aid the
Union. But he still wanted to proceed carefully, because he
knew that emancipation (the act of freeing people from slavery or oppression) had many opponents, even in the North.
The president was particularly concerned about the reaction
of the four slave-holding “border” states that had remained
loyal to the Union—Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, and Kentucky. He worried that if he suddenly outlawed slavery, these
states would leave the Union and join the Confederacy.
“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. . . .”
The U.S. Congress took the first step toward freeing
the slaves in August 1861. At that time, it passed a law that allowed the Union Army to seize enemy property that was used
in the war effort. Slaves were considered property in the South
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and were often used as laborers in Confederate Army camps.
In effect, the Confiscation Act enabled Union troops to take
any slaves they found away from their owners. Such slaves became known as “contrabands.” Another law passed in March
1862 forbade Union Army officers from returning fugitive
slaves to their owners in the South. In July 1862, Congress
passed an even stronger Confiscation Act that granted freedom to any slaves who came under the control of Union
troops. They also gave the president power to use these freed
slaves as laborers or even soldiers in the Union Army.
Also in July 1862, President Lincoln read the first
draft of his Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet (a
group of trusted advisors who supervised various government
departments). His secretary of state, William H. Seward
(1801–1872), suggested that he wait to issue it until the
Union Army achieved a victory on the battlefield. Seward argued that if the president issued his proclamation at a time
when the Union’s chances of winning the Civil War seemed
slim, it would be dismissed as a desperate attempt to avoid
defeat. But if he waited until events went in the Union’s
favor, then the proclamation would seem more like a statement of moral principle. The proclamation would make it
clear that the North was fighting not only to restore the
Union, but also on behalf of basic American values of freedom and liberty for all men and women.
The Union Army managed to win a brutal battle at
Antietam in Maryland in September 1862. Lincoln took this
opportunity to issue a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22. This document warned the Confederate states that the president planned to free the slaves as of
January 1, 1863, unless those states voluntarily rejoined the
Union before that time. Since Lincoln was issuing the Emancipation Proclamation as a war measure, it would only apply
to enemy territory—those states that were in rebellion against
the United States. It would not apply to areas in the South
that had been captured and occupied by Union troops, or to
the slave-holding border states that were still part of the
Union. This meant that 830,000 black men and women would
remain slaves out of a total of 4 million slaves in the South.
Many people found it strange that Lincoln granted freedom to the slaves in Confederate states. Since those states had
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American Civil War: Primary Sources
seceded from (left) the United States at the beginning of the
Civil War, the American government had no power to enforce
such an order there. The slaves might be emancipated according
to a piece of paper, but in reality they would not be free until
Union troops arrived. Some Northern abolitionists were disappointed that the Emancipation Proclamation would not apply
to the border states or to occupied areas. As a writer for the London Spectator noted, the proclamation did not say “that a human
being cannot justly own another, but that he cannot own him
unless he is loyal to the United States.” Some people doubted
whether the president’s proclamation was even legal. Lincoln issued the order under the broad powers that the Constitution
gives the president in times of war as commander-in-chief of the
U.S. Army. But the Constitution allowed slavery, and only Congress holds the power to propose changes to the Constitution.
President Abraham Lincoln
discusses the first draft of
the Emancipation
Proclamation with his
cabinet. (Courtesy of the
Library of Congress.)
Despite these criticisms, Lincoln issued his final
Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It was “one
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of the strangest and most important state papers ever issued
by an American President,” according to Bruce Catton in The
Civil War.
Things to remember while reading Abraham
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation:
• President Lincoln’s proclamation did not free all the
slaves in the United States. In fact, it only freed the slaves
in the Confederate states that had left the Union. It did
not apply to the four slave-holding border states that remained part of the Union. It also did not apply to the
areas of Southern states that were under control of the
Union Army at the time it was issued. Lincoln outlines
which states he means in the second paragraph of the
document. The exceptions he mentions are areas that
were loyal to the Union or were under Union control. He
explains that these areas will be “left precisely as if this
proclamation were not issued,” meaning that slavery
would continue to exist there, at least “for the present.”
• Upon hearing about the Emancipation Proclamation,
some Southerners accused the president of trying to help
the Union’s war effort by causing slave uprisings across
the Confederacy. Lincoln addresses this issue in the
fourth paragraph of the document. He expressly asks
freed slaves not to engage in violence, unless they are
forced to defend themselves.
• In the fifth paragraph of the document, Lincoln declares
his intention to use freed slaves in the Union Army. This
was a relatively new idea at the time the Emancipation
Proclamation was issued. Discrimination had prevented
black men from serving in the Union Army until late
1862.
Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation
Vested: Guaranteed as a legal
right or privilege.
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I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of
the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
American Civil War: Primary Sources
Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion
against the authority and government of the United States, and as
a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do,
on this 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, and in accordance with my
purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the first day above mentioned, order and designate
as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof, respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States the
following, to wit:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St.
Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James,
Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St.
Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except for the forty-eight counties designated
as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac,
Northhampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and Norfolk,
including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power and for the purpose 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; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and
maintain the freedom of said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to
abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
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.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty
God.
Abraham Lincoln
Rebellion: Resistance or
defiance of an established
government.
Suppressing: Subduing or
putting down by force.
Parishes: Divisions of the
state of Louisiana that are the
equivalent of counties in
other states.
Proclamation: An official
public announcement.
Enjoin: Direct or command.
Abstain: Prevent oneself from
taking an action.
Garrison: To occupy with
troops.
Warranted: Authorized or
supported.
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What happened next . . .
Reactions to Lincoln’s announcement were divided
along predictable lines in the South. White Southerners criticized the Emancipation Proclamation, while slaves and free
blacks in the South supported it. The Confederate government said that Lincoln had no authority to make such a statement and encouraged people to disregard it. Many whites
claimed that the president issued the document in hopes of
creating widespread slave rebellions across the South.
As slaves in the South heard about the Emancipation
Proclamation, they began to recognize what the Civil War
meant for their future. If the North won, slavery would be
abolished (completely eliminated) throughout the land. As a
result, some slaves began to rebel against their masters and to
help the Union cause. Some simply refused to work, while
others started fires to destroy property belonging to whites.
Thousands of slaves decided to flee the South for freedom in
the North. This movement deprived the Confederacy of a
valuable labor force and helped increase the size of Union
forces. Although most slaves were thrilled to learn that they
were free, some also recognized that freedom brought uncertainty and new responsibilities. Since many slaves had not received basic education and were not trained in any special
skills, they were concerned about how they would make a living and take care of their families.
In the North, early reactions to the Emancipation
Proclamation were mixed. Abolitionists and free blacks were
thrilled by the news. They recognized the president’s reasons for proceeding cautiously, and they knew that the document was still a revolutionary one even if it did not immediately free all of the nation’s slaves. After all, the
proclamation said that any slaves who were freed during the
war would remain “forever free.” It also promised that the
U.S. government would “recognize and maintain” their freedom. So they felt that the document would have some positive effects regardless of the final outcome of the war. At the
same time, some Northerners opposed the idea of freeing
the slaves. Some working-class whites worried that former
slaves would come to the North and take their jobs. Other
Northerners felt that emancipation would prolong the war
and cost more lives.
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American Civil War: Primary Sources
Reaction was mixed among
soldiers in the Union Army as well.
Many Northern soldiers did not feel
strongly about outlawing slavery prior
to the war. Instead, they fought in
order to preserve the Union. Other
soldiers, particularly those who came
from slave-holding border states, actually supported slavery. By the middle of 1863, however, most Union soldiers had accepted the idea of
emancipation. For one thing, they
recognized that freeing the slaves hurt
the Confederate war effort by taking
away valuable property as “contraband of war.” For another thing, black
soldiers began contributing to Union
victories in battle. As white soldiers
saw the courage of their black counterparts, many came to believe that
emancipation would help the Union
win the war.
As Northern support for emancipation increased in the months following Lincoln’s announcement, it changed the way many
people viewed the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation
made it clear that the North was fighting for a broader cause
than simply restoring the Union. They were also fighting for
the cause of human freedom. “The Emancipation Proclamation announced a new war aim,” James M. McPherson wrote
in Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction. “The
Union army became officially an army of liberation. The
North was now fighting to create a new Union, not to restore
the old one.”
Slaves react jubilantly to
Abraham Lincoln’s
Emancipation Proclamation.
(Courtesy of the Library of
Congress.)
Did you know . . .
• The process of ending slavery that began with the Emancipation Proclamation was completed with the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This
amendment, which permanently outlawed slavery in the
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United States, was passed by Congress in January 1865
and ratified (approved) by the states in the fall of that
year.
• Martin Luther King, Jr.—one of the leaders of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s—made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on January 1, 1963, at a
ceremony to honor the one hundredth anniversary of
the Emancipation Proclamation. King acknowledged
that black people still faced discrimination in American
society, but expressed his hope that they would soon
achieve true equality. At one point in the speech, King
said: “I have a dream that one day, on the red hills of
Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of
brotherhood.”
For Further Reading
Berlin, Ira. Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Cox, LaWanda. Lincoln and Black Freedom: A Study in Presidential Leadership. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1981.
Franklin, John Hope. The Emancipation Proclamation. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1963. Reprint, Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1995.
McPherson, James M. The Struggle for Equality: Abolitionists and the Negro
in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1964, 1995.
Trefousse, Hans L. Lincoln’s Decision for Emancipation. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975.
Wood, Forrest G. Black Scare: The Racist Response to Emancipation and Reconstruction. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968.
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American Civil War: Primary Sources