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Cover(?) for the Emancipation Proclamation

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Cover(?) for the Emancipation Proclamation

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Concerning Emancipation: Address on Colonization

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It is better for us both, therefore, to be separated. I know that there are free men among you, who even if they could better their condition are not as much inclined to go out of the country as those, who being slaves could obtain their freedom on this condition.

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https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/preliminary_emancipation_proclamation.html#

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A Transcript of the Proclamation itself

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January 1, 1863

A Transcription

By the President of the United States of America:

A Proclamation.

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, 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; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."

Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and 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 first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first 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 the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, 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-defence; 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.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

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January 1, 1863 A Transcription By the President of the United States of America: A Proclamation.

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Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation

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Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation

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The year is 1862. The nation is divided and is at war with each other. A rough version of the Emancipation Proclamation is shelved for a couple of months before Former President Abraham Lincoln decided to pass it on January 1st, 1863. It was certainly not an easy decision to make. Lincoln devoted a reasonable amount of time and thought to the passing of the document. The passing of the Emancipation Proclamation was a vital piece to what makes the United States the nation it is today.

It is no news that former President Abraham Lincoln had an immensely important decision to make in his hands. The goal of the civil war at the beginning was an attempt to reunite the divided states and rekindle their comradery. The abolishment of slavery did not come into play until a while after. The reason probably being that many people at the time did believe slavery was wrong but did not particularly believe in equality for African Americans.   Lincoln wrote the proclamation in July of 1862, and later in September he issued it as the "Preliminary Proclamation.". He used this as an ultimatum towards the south stating "..that if the rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in the free rebellious states would be free." One of the many reasons the Emancipation Proclamation was challenging to decide on is that Lincoln feared it would reinvigorate the war and worried the south might use the freed slaves to their advantage. The proclamation proved itself to be quite a challenge to write due to it containing it's fair amount of irony and contradictions. Ironic because he was freeing the slaves in the rebel states in the south. States where he at that point had no control over. Furthermore, he was not freeing the slaves in the north or the border states where slavery could continue despite the Emancipation Proclamation. The document contradicted itself because Lincoln could not technically free the slaves according to the Constitution because they were labeled as personal property. He found a justification that was to use the Emancipation Proclamation as an act of war. Lincoln felt it was justified because he would be freeing the slaves and also undermine the war effort in the south. The only problem is that the document did not carry a force of law. It only brought a direction of policy enforced by his generals as they passed through the south. The slaves could technically be re-enslaved once the war was over. But this was later no longer a concern after the passing of the 13th amendment which declared to abolish slavery. One of the other outcomes of using the Emancipation Proclamation as a tactic of war is that it introduced an entirely new population into the war. It encouraged slaves to enlist in the army. As the white soldiers were starting to lose their will to fight, these new black soldiers arrived to put new enthusiasm and fire into the military resulting in further successes and ultimately victory.

Contrary to popular belief, Lincoln did not particularly believe African Americans should have the same rights as whites did. On August 14, 1862 President Lincoln met with a group of African Americans to introduce his plans to colonize freed slaves outside the United States. President Lincoln stated, “..But even when you cease to be slaves, you are yet far removed from being placed on an equality with the white race. You are cut off from many of the advantages which the other race enjoy. The aspiration of men is to enjoy equality with the best when free, but on this broad continent, not a single man of your race is made the equal of a single man of ours. Go where you are treated the best, and the ban is still upon you..” This idea was not new as it had been brought up by former U.S. presidents such as Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. This proposal by Lincoln was quickly rejected by most African Americans because they deemed it as racist. “General Ulysses S. Grant, a commander in the Union army, had some of the same opinions as those radical northerners, and also believed that slaves should be used in the army and put into their own communities as to progress on their own, as slaves weren’t quite ready to be thrown into society.”

After having a sleepless night on December 31, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln finally decided to sign the Emancipation Proclamation the very next morning on January 1, 1863. Calling for the Emancipation of slaves in rebel states as well as the recruitment of African Americans to the Union military. Lincoln stated in the Proclamation, "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, 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; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.”.  The Emancipation Proclamation managed to change the main focus of the war. Previously it had been to preserve the Union, but with the issuance of the Proclamation, the freeing of slaves across the south became a main goal. Every victory from then on was a victory for those who wished to abolish slavery. It reinstated hope in slaves who wished for their long-awaited and deserved freedom. As stated earlier, Lincoln called for the recruitment of freed slaves for the Union army because additional soldiers were desperately needed at this point in the war. By the end of the war close to 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought on the side of the Union.

In summary, the Emancipation Proclamation was written for various reasons. It was to help increase the Union’s morale just as much as it was to free slaves. Although the Proclamation itself did not manage to do something outstanding, it was certainly a step in the right direction and a step closer to the abolishment of slavery. With the signing of the Emancipation, Former President Abraham Lincoln truly managed to kill two birds with one stone.

Bibliography

1. “Preliminary Proclamation.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/preliminary_emancipation_proclamation.html#.

2. “Address on Colonization to a Committee of Colored Men, Washington D.C.” Concerning Emancipation: Address on Colonization, www.learner.org/workshops/primarysources/emancipation/docs/address.html.

3. “1862: America Undeceived.” 1862 America Undeceived, commons.trincoll.edu/1862/2012/12/20/1862-the-transition-into-emancipation/.

4. “Transcript of the Proclamation.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation/transcript.html.

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Abraham Lincoln argues the importance of abolishing slavery.

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First page to the Emancipation Proclamation

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First page to the Emancipation Proclamation

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Below is the first page of the Emancipation Proclamation