The Politics of Emancipation

1. The Politics of Emancipation A group of “contrabands” (liberated slaves), photographed at Cumberland Landing, Virginia, at a sensitive point in the war when their legal status was still not fully determined.

2. Bell-Ringer In his annual message in December 1862, Lincoln asserted that “in giving freedom to the slaves, we assure freedom to the free.” What do you think he meant by this statement?

3. Though Lincoln pledged that the war was being fought to preserve the power and authority of the Union, the issue of slavery could not be dismissed. • Blacks were pushing for their cause of freedom and emancipation by running away in droves to the “benevolent North.” Many free blacks from the North as well as escapees were eager to serve in the Union army, but they were not welcomed initially. This helped to push Lincoln to make a formal proclamation. • Despite differences of opinion, the necessities of war demanded that Lincoln adopt a policy to end slavery. • Following the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln issued a preliminary decree: unless the rebellious southern states returned to the Union by January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves “forever free.” • On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, which turned out to be less than sweeping. It freed the slaves in the areas of rebellion—the areas the Union did not control—but specifically exempted slaves in the border states and in former Confederate areas conquered by the Union.

5. The first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation before the cabinet / painted by F.B. Carpenter ; engraved by A.H. Ritchie.

6. Reading the Emancipation Proclamation / H.W. Herrick, del., J.W. Watts, sc.

7. As part of the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln gave his support for the first time to the recruitment of black soldiers. • Military service was something no black man could take lightly. African American soldiers faced prejudice within the army and had to prove themselves in battle. • African American soldiers were not treated equally by the Union army. They were segregated in camp, given the worst jobs, and paid less than white soldiers. The wages of black and white soldiers would not be equalized until years later. • As time went on, the army service of black men made a dent in northern white racism. Some states, like MA, enacted the first law forbidding discrimination against African Americans in public facilities.

8. African American Soldiers • Lincoln supported recruitment of black soldiers as part of the • Emancipation Proclamation. • Nearly 200,000 African Americans served in the Union • Army. • 37,000 African Americans died defending their freedom and the Union. Full standing black soldier, rifle with fixed bayonet, between 1861-1864

9. This recruiting poster for African Americans in 1863 depicts a regiment of black union soldiers adjacent to their white commander.

10. The Freedmen’s Monument FRONT REVERSE