Emancipation as a War Measure

Although not an “abolitionist” in the strict sense, Abraham Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery. Lincoln’s view was common within the Republican Party. Abolitionists were generally despised in both North and South--many would be considered radical even by today’s abysmal moral standards. Abolitionists, e.g., Wendell Phillips and Lysander Spooner routinely criticized Lincoln for his tepid anti-slavery views. Lincoln’s focus was on maintaining the geographical Union--slavery was a secondary matter.

Lincoln was widely known for making “racial” comments that would now be career-destroying. For example, in his September 18, 1858, debate with Stephen Douglas in Charleston, Illinois, Lincoln said: “I will say, then, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races—that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races...I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.”

Furthermore, Lincoln felt the ideal way to diffuse racial issues was to send Blacks to other areas of the world. In the same Douglas debate, Lincoln said: “Such separation if effected at all, must be effected by colonization: what colonization most needs is a hearty will...Let us be brought to believe that it is morally right, and at the same time favorable to, or at least not against, our interests to transfer the African to his native clime, and we shall find a way to do it, however great the task may be.” Lincoln also wondered if he could “get a number of able-bodied men, with their wives and children, who are willing to go to Central America.”

After over a year of fighting, the North was unable to subdue the Southern States. This, despite overwhelming advantages in virtually every measurable element of power, e.g., number of men, weapons, an established military, a large industrial base, an already functioning government, a developed transportation network, etc. Frustrated by being unable to force the Southern States back in the Union and, amid hints the South was surreptitiously working on its own form of gradual emancipation, Lincoln devised another strategy that might be construed as a “moral” boost--the Emancipation Proclamation.

Under federalism, the President generally lacks authority to interfere in State matters (including slavery). Lincoln apparently cared little for the constitution and, at times, his knowledge of the document was questionable. He did, however, seek a propaganda advantage, regardless of how spurious it was.

A cursory reading of the Emancipation Proclamation reveals the stratagem. In September 1862, Lincoln said slaves held in the seceded States would be freed on January 1, 1863, unless those States rejoined the Union. If they returned within that 100-day period, it would be “business as usual.” The proclamation clearly affirmed that the Slave States that fought for the Union and areas in the South occupied by Union troops were excluded. Multiple critics lambasted this sleight of hand. This included England’s Lord Palmerston, Goldwyn Smith, and Earl Russell, along with New England historian Edward Channing. Even Secretary of State Seward said: “We show our sympathy with slavery by emancipating slaves where we cannot reach them and holding them in bondage where we can set them free.” Once the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, Union soldiers deserted in droves--they “signed up” to keep the Union intact, not to free slaves.

Lincoln understood the dubious nature of the proclamation: “Liberation of slaves is purely political and not within the range of military law or necessity... Can there be a pretense that the Constitution and laws govern... when a general, or a president, may make permanent rules of property by proclamation? I, as a president, shall expressly or impliedly seize and exercise the permanent legislative functions of the government.”[13]

During earlier times, Great Britain dominated the slave trade. Lincoln was aware of Britain’s about-face regarding slavery. Lincoln saw the Emancipation Proclamation as a propaganda tool to discourage both Britain and France from officially aligning with the Confederate States (with some success). He also understood that such a proclamation could disrupt the Southern war effort as the Blacks that were slaves might seek to leave the farms and plantations and/or react violently against the slave owners. Although some did leave, violent reactions were extremely rare.

Regarding the Emancipation Proclamation, thanks to a concerted effort to elevate “Yankee history,” Lincoln appears to have successfully fooled most of the people most of the time. However, some are able to see through the chicanery and are not fooled at any time.

Sources: Facts and Falsehoods Concerning the War on the South 1861-1865, by George Edmonds, (Crown Rights Book Company); The South Was Right!, By James Ronald Kennedy and Walter Donald Kennedy, (Pelican Publishing Company); Facts The Historians Leave Out, by John S. Tilley, Twenty-Second Printing (Bill Coats, Ltd.); The Lincoln No One Knows by Webb Garrison, (Rutledge Hill Press); Emancipation Hell (Kirkpatrick Sale, 2012), by Kirkpatrick Sale; and “Emancipation Proclamation Sesquicentennial (Slavery? Bah, Humbug!),” by John P. Sophocleus, The Alabama Gazette, January 2013. John also explains that the timing of the proclamation was based on Lincoln’s anticipation of the blockade being broken. In Colonization After Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement, Phillip W. Magness and Sebastian N. Page researched British archives and found that Lincoln worked on his deportation plans until shortly before his death in April 1865. Note: Lincoln routinely made racially disparaging comments about Blacks, American Indians, Mexicans, and others. Like the overwhelming majority of his contemporaries in both North and South, Lincoln viewed America as a White man’s country.

THE VIEWS OF SUBMITTED EDITORIALS MAY NOT BE THE EXPRESS VIEWS OF THE ALABAMA GAZETTE.