Abraham Lincoln Slavery

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The Beginning to an End: The Fate of Slavery.

The text Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War edited by Michael Johnson, is a timeline of writings and speeches by Lincoln. With the assistance of Johnson, we learn of the choices and decisions Lincoln had to make during his presidency. Conflicting with his own moral beliefs, he tries to use his knowledge to keep states loyal and people to the union, while also creating consequences for those deciding to go. During his presidency, Lincoln had to make choices that did not align with his values but for the prosperity of the states. I took an interest in how Lincoln changed his policies regarding slavery during the Civil War. To answer this, I specifically looked at why he initially insisted …show more content…
This idea becomes immensely threatened once the southern states begin seceding. Lincoln knew there were many white southerners loyal to remaining a Union within the Confederacy. Rather than anger the unionists that remained in the seceding states Lincoln decided to affirm their case, which was that their constitutional right to property, slaves, would remain protected in the Union. He believed that if he could create the separation between loyal and disloyal Southerners, he could also create a sense of Southern unionism, which would help defeat secessionism. Lincoln's speech, Proclamation Calling Militia, and Convening Congress, again affirmed that one of his main goals was the continuation of the Union and all the states together. “I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of popular government; and to redress wrongs already long enough endured” is the section of the speech referred too. In this quote, although the context is in terms of searching for military men, he expresses that it is a job to ensure the National Union, showing his care about unity. He saw his problem within the Confederacy, not everyone. Lincoln hoped appealing to loyal Southerners would prevent border slave states from seceding. He did this by assuring …show more content…
The acts and policies set in place aimed to undermine and hurt the Confederacy's morale during the war. Many of these efforts failed to work due to the persistence of the Southerners and Union generals. Congress passed the 1st Confiscation Act in August 1861. This act stated Southern or seceding states relinquished their claims to all property, including slaves, used to support the rebellion. This first act caused numerous more slaves to escape from their owners and join the Union armies. Northern Soldiers were under orders to return fugitive slaves to their loyal owners unless the slave was employed and supported by the rebellion. Under the terms of the First Confiscation Act, they no longer had owners, therefore they did not have to be returned. This caused hundreds and thousands more slaves to rebel against their masters and be employed under the Union. This act also produced more soldiers to fight for the Union, which Lincoln needed. However, Lincoln soon decided to increase the ante by proposing the idea of a gradual and compensated emancipation to Congress. Rather than threatening the rights of slaveholders with the complete abolition of slavery, he would try and reason with them instead. His plan honored the constitutional limits of federal power, while also strengthening the Union. While Congress deliberated on this plan for a time, they changed
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