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Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863
Lincoln labored over the wording of the Proclamation until he was sure it would withstand constitutional scrutiny. It was issued following the northern victory at Antietam -- the bloodiest battle to date in the Civil War. Many were displeased with the Proclamation. Abolitionists felt Lincoln had not gone far enough; others saw it as unenforceable, while the South saw it as proof that Lincoln had always been an abolitionist.
Frederick Douglass, spoke for many Americans, black and white, as he called it a "day of poetry and song, a new song."
Letter to James Conkling, August 26, 1863
The President could not attend a September 3rd Union rally in Springfield, so he asked his friend, James Conkling, to read this letter to the crowd. Lincoln forcefully urged support for the Emancipation Proclamation and the Union war effort.
Freedom was not an abstract idea to Abraham Lincoln; it was firmly embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He never wavered in his personal belief that all Americans should be free, and his writings and speeches reflect this belief. Without the freedom to vote, to work, to discuss issues openly, and to have the opportunity to improve one's status in life, there would be no country. To Lincoln, these freedoms must be available to everyone; therefore slavery should not exist. |