How was war strategy involved in abraham lincoln’s decision to issue the emancipation proclamation?

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This Presidents and the Constitution e-lesson focuses on Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Though he had always hated slavery, President Lincoln did not believe the Constitution gave him the authority to bring it to an end-until it became necessary to free the slaves in order to save the Union. With the Emancipation Proclamation, which he viewed as an essential wartime measure to cripple the Confederacy’s ability to fight, Lincoln took the first step toward abolition of slavery in the United States.

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Introduction

On March 4, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Inaugural Address to a nation in peril, divided over the issue of slavery. He explained his belief that secession was unconstitutional and that he intended to do all in his power to save the Union. In addition, just as he had promised throughout the election campaign, he emphasized, “…I have no purpose, …to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. …I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so…” Though Lincoln hated slavery, he believed it was protected by the Constitution. Seven states had already announced their secession. After the fall of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, the Civil War began, four more states seceded, and the Union army experienced repeated defeats. Lincoln continued to maintain that he would not interfere with slavery where it existed. However, as a result of Union battlefield losses by July 1862, the President had decided that emancipation was a military necessity. Lincoln knew that many thousands of enslaved people were ready to fight for the Union. He wrote, “This is not a question of sentiment or taste, but one of physical force which may be measured …Keep [that force] and you can save the Union. Throw it away, and the Union goes with it.” Lincoln used his authority as Commander in Chief under the U.S. Constitution to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863. He stated the military necessity of his action. He ordered slaves freed in areas that were in rebellion against the U.S., declared that the military would enforce their freedom, and received former slaves into the U.S. military. Upon signing the Proclamation, Lincoln affirmed that he had never felt “more certain that I was doing right.” No one was freed when the Proclamation took effect; it applied only behind enemy lines. However, the Emancipation Proclamation was an essential first step by the U.S. government toward abolition, and emancipation led almost two hundred thousand slaves to leave the South and serve the Union side. By giving the war a new moral purpose, Lincoln changed its character. He showed that the time had come to make the nation’s policies align with its promise as stated in the Declaration of Independence: “…all men are created equal…”

Questions

1. What made Lincoln decide that emancipation was a military necessity?
2. Why did Lincoln refuse to free the slaves until it was a military necessity?
3. How many slaves were freed by the Proclamation?
4. In what ways was the Emancipation Proclamation a turning point in the course of the war? In the history of the United States?

Hallowed Ground Magazine, Fall 2012

What would the emancipation of slaves mean? Which slaves would actually be freed? How would emancipation change the course of the war? President Abraham Lincoln had a lot to consider as he pondered the issuance of his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862. Lincoln began his presidency vowing not to interfere with slavery where it already existed, but 17 months of war changed that.

While Lincoln personally felt that freeing the slaves would be “an act of justice,” he had to consider whether or not such an act was constitutional. He also realized that he could not free all of the slaves, including those in the vital Border States that remained loyal to the Union. Lincoln determined that emancipating slaves in the areas of rebellion that were not under Federal control was “warranted by the Constitution” as “a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion.” Slave labor was used to support the Confederate Army, he reasoned, and therefore gave the Confederacy a distinct advantage. Lincoln surmised that freeing these slaves would weaken the power of the Confederate army, thus justifying the Emancipation Proclamation as an act of “military necessity” that was valid under the Constitution.

A group of "contrabands" near Cumberland Landing, Virginia in 1862 Library of Congress

After determining the proclamation’s constitutionality, Lincoln had to consider the political atmosphere and the timing of his announcement. The Union had not yet won a major battle in the East and not everyone in the North supported the idea of fighting a war for the freedom of slaves. Depending on the timing of the announcement, some might have even considered it a last-ditch effort to support an army that could not otherwise suppress the rebellion. Lincoln and his advisors agreed that a victory was needed before any announcement of emancipation could be made. This victory would raise morale and support for the war from the public while showing that the Union army was strong enough to fight the rebellion on its own.

The Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, proved to be exactly what Lincoln needed. Although the tactical results of the bloody battle were inconclusive, Gen. Robert E. Lee and his army retreated back to Virginia, allowing Lincoln to claim a strategic victory. On September 22, 1862, he released the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which served as a warning to the states in rebellion: if they did not rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, their slaves would be freed.

The fighting continued, however, and with the New Year, the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in the ten rebellious states —  Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. In the Proclamation Lincoln declared, “All persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free.” He also pledged that, “the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons.” However, because Lincoln did not want to incite a slave rebellion, he cautioned the freed slaves to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense.” He also recommended that “in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages."

The Emancipation Proclamation changed the meaning and purpose of the Civil War. The war was no longer just about preserving the Union—  it was also about freeing the slaves. Foreign powers such as Britain and France lost their enthusiasm for supporting the Confederacy. Furthermore, the Emancipation Proclamation also stated that, “Such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States ….”  African-Americans could now join the army, and eagerly did so, aiding the Union war effort. Over the course of the war, roughly 200,000 African-Americans served in the Union forces.

Although many more amendments and laws would need to be passed before African-Americans enjoyed the full rights of citizenship, the Emancipation Proclamation was the first bold step in that process.

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The Emancipation Proclamation is arguably one of the top ten most important documents in the history of the United States; however, it is also one of the most misunderstood. Here are ten facts providing the basics on the proclamation and the history surrounding it.

Fact #1: Lincoln actually issued the Emancipation Proclamation twice.

Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862. It stipulated that if the Southern states did not cease their rebellion by January 1st, 1863, then Proclamation would go into effect. When the Confederacy did not yield, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863.

Fact #2: The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to the states in rebellion.

President Lincoln justified the Emancipation Proclamation as a war measure intended to cripple the Confederacy. Being careful to respect the limits of his authority, Lincoln applied the Emancipation Proclamation only to the Southern states in rebellion.

Fact #3: Lincoln’s advisors did not initially support the Emancipation Proclamation.

When President Lincoln first proposed the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet in the summer of 1862, many of the cabinet secretaries were apathetic, or worse, worried that the Proclamation was too radical. It was only Lincoln’s firm commitment to the necessity and justice of the Proclamation, along with the victory at Antietam, which finally persuaded his cabinet members to support him.

Fact #4: The Battle of Antietam (also known as Sharpsburg) provided the necessary Union victory to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

President Lincoln had first proposed the Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet in July 1862, but Secretary of State William Seward suggested waiting for a Union victory so that the government could prove that it could enforce the Proclamation. Although the Battle of Antietam resulted in a draw, the Union army was able to drive the Confederates out of Maryland – enough of a “victory,” that Lincoln felt comfortable issuing the Emancipation just five days later.

Fact #5: The Emancipation Proclamation was a firm demonstration of the President’s executive war powers.

The Southern states used slaves to support their armies on the field and to manage the home front so more men could go off to fight. In a display of his political genius, President Lincoln shrewdly justified the Emancipation Proclamation as a “fit and necessary war measure” in order to cripple the Confederacy’s use of slaves in the war effort. Lincoln also declared that the Proclamation would be enforced under his power as Commander-in-Chief, and that the freedom of the slaves would be maintained by the “Executive government of the United States.”

Fact #6: The Emancipation Proclamation changed the focus of the war.

Up until September 1862, the main focus of the war had been to preserve the Union. With the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation freedom for slaves now became a legitimate war aim.

Fact #7: The Emancipation Proclamation helped prevent the involvement of foreign nations in the Civil War.

Britain and France had considered supporting the Confederacy in order to expand their influence in the Western Hemisphere. However, many Europeans were against slavery. Although some in the United Kingdom saw the Emancipation Proclamation as overly limited and reckless, Lincoln's directive reinforced the shift of the international political mood against intervention while the Union victory at Antietam further disturbed those who didn't want to intervene on the side of a lost cause. 

Fact #8: The Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for African-Americans to fight for their freedom.

Lincoln declared in the Proclamation that African-Americans of “suitable condition, would be received into the armed service of the United States.” Five months after the Proclamation took effect; the War Department of the United States issued General Orders No. 143, establishing the United States Colored Troops (USCT). By the end of the war, over 200,000 African-Americans would serve in the Union army and navy.

Fact #9: The Emancipation Proclamation led the way to total abolition of slavery in the United States.

With the Emancipation Proclamation, the aim of the war changed to include the freeing of slaves in addition to preserving the Union. Although the Proclamation initially freed only the slaves in the rebellious states, by the end of the war the Proclamation had influenced and prepared citizens to advocate and accept abolition for all slaves in both the North and South. The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States, was passed on December 6th, 1865.

Fact #10: Lincoln considered the Emancipation Proclamation the crowning achievement of his presidency.

Heralded as the savior of the Union, President Lincoln actually considered the Emancipation Proclamation to be the most important aspect of his legacy. “I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper,” he declared. “If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it."