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Why Did Lincoln Take So Long?

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Myth and fact have always been at odds. Time and time again myth has been misrepresented as fact. To such an extent it has been ingrained so deeply within the cultural mind, people cease to question its feasibility. In the Emancipation Proclamation speech Lincoln declared more than three million slaves in the rebel states of the Confederacy free. The question is, why did Lincoln take so long? It took Lincoln two years to free the slaves yet he claimed to be anti-slavery. As Julius Lester said, “His pen was sitting on his desk the whole time.” In reality, Lincoln’s intentions were to bring the restoration of the Union and making the American economy safe for whites, not concerning the rights of the blacks. The Proclamation is dull and turgid. …show more content…

Why, in the most important document he ever wrote, does Lincoln sound like a pettifogger, drafting an almost incomprehensible legal document? And why did it take him two years to move towards ending slavery? In his first inaugural address, Lincoln said, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no incli­nation to do so.” But by mid-1862, however, Lincoln concluded that, as commander in chief, he did have the power to take slaves away from states in rebellion. Thus came the Emancipation Proc­la­mation to states in the Confederacy not occupied by federal forces, since under the Constitution he could only free slaves in places that claimed to be “outside” the United

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In this Document, President Lincoln declared that all slaves in rebellion states were to be “forever free” at the issued date of the document. Although this Document did not in fact free most slaves , it was considered to be one of the most important turning points of the war, and it had preserved the fight for freedom in the nation at the time. When the Emancipation Proclamation had taken its effect, a couple million salves were freed. Lincoln, at first, had no stance on Slavery, mostly at the beginning of his term, however that had changed, and when this document was issued, it was clear that President Lincoln was not in favor of slavery. However, slavery still existed in the South (Confederate States) until there was a victor, and in this

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You can see this in Document B, wherein 1858 Lincoln says this: “I have no purpose . . . to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists . . .” Later on in the same document he also states, “There is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights . . . in the Declaration of Independence- the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” While Lincoln was running for president, he promised to leave slavery alone in the South, but he also stays true to his personal morals through his time, that slavery

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The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared that all slaves in Confederate-held territory were to be set free. However, it wasn't until the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1865 that slavery

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Abraham Lincoln did not believe that slavery should be abolished as soon as possible; he rather believed that slavery should be restricted and no longer extend to other states (or territories) in the Union that don’t already have slavery. This specific belief made him a free-soiler; he was not an abolitionist. He also believed that the very mention of spreading slavery was the reason for the conflicts within the Union in the first place; at the Jonesboro Joint Debate, he replied to his opponent then-senator Stephen Douglas that “we have generally had comparative peace upon the slavery question” until it was “excited by the effort to spread it into new territory” (7). He later goes on to blaming violent conflicts like the Mexican War on the question of spreading slavery: He says that “Whenever there has been an effort to spread it there has been agitation and resistance” (7).

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On September 2nd, 1862, Abraham Lincoln famously signed the Emancipation Proclamation. After that, there’s been much debate on whether Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation truly played a role in freeing the slaves with many arguments opposing or favoring this issue. In Vincent Harding’s essay, The Blood-red Ironies of God, Harding argues in his thesis that Lincoln did not help to emancipate the slaves but that rather the slaves “self-emancipated” themselves through the war. On the opposition, Allen C Guelzo ’s essay, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, argues in favor of the Emancipation Proclamation and Guelzo acknowledges Lincoln for the abolishment of slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation.

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The Constitution authorized slavery so Lincoln left this alone and did not technically try to change that (Pruitt). Although, Lincoln did make the first steps to ending slavery, and that was one of the best things our country did. Slaves were treated as though their only life purpose was to help their owners. It was very “degrading.” The owners physically forced the slaves to work and if they did not, they were threated or beaten (Hamner).

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He believes that both own slaves and believing against owning slaves are ideas that cannot coincide in America. Lincoln’s whole point to his speech is to show that divided, we cannot stand as one. The only way Lincoln suggests to fix it is to let it come to a point where one wins over the other or to overthrow the dynasty. Lincoln says, “To meet and overthrow the power of that dynasty, is the work now before all those who would prevent that

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President Lincoln stated that: “if I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it,..., and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would do it.”. This quote clearly shows that the freedom of slaves was not his concern and unnecessary if it did not help the Union; as the result, slavery still exists if there is no war. Free slave from bondage should be a Great Emancipator’s primary goal and he will do his best to achieve it no matter what, but president Lincoln’s thought differed from that because all he cares was the Union. Although he had many times admitting himself an anti-slavery but his words and thoughts obviously prove that he is

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The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared that all the slaves in the Confederate states in rebellion against the Union were not free. It didn 't affect bondsmen in the loyal Border States though, out of fear of driving them away from the Union, nor did it affect some of the conquered territory in the South. This new change made it clear to both sides that this would be a fight to the finish, ruling out the chance of negotiation. While Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation delighted the abolitionists, is also infuriated many other citizens. They thought "Honest Abe." had lied to them, seeing as previously, at the onset of the war, Abraham Lincoln had stated that his intentions in the war to save the Union had nothing to do with freeing the

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So far President Lincoln had contradicted blacks fighting for the Union in any case, after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, which pronounced that slaves in states still in insubordination on January 1, 1863, "should be then, thenceforward, and everlastingly free," he turned around his considering (Horton). Toward the end of the Emancipation Proclamation Lincoln declared that the liberated blacks "would be gotten into the furnished administration of the United States..." Lincoln arranged to take advantage of another wellspring of fighting people (Civil War). Lincoln thought this would both debilitate the foe and fortify the Union The enlistment of the blacks took workers from the South and put them in the Union armed force in spots

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He had never faltered in his feelings about slavery. As evidenced by Mcpherson (source E). He knew, better than anyone, that the “expansion of slavery” would not only lead to the destruction of an empire, but also the victory of the forces of barbarism. Lincoln also saw, what very few others at the moment could see, that, if he was to win, he must carry his people with him, step by step. So when he had rallied them to the defense of the Union, in the autumn of 1862, he announced that he would issue “ The Emancipation proclamation” (source A).

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It was then that Licoln created the Emancipation Proclamation. In the document, he told all slaves in the South that they were free, including Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. However, the border states, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri were states Lincoln didn’t free the slaves in, in order to retain their loyalty and not anger them enough to make them want to secede from the Nation. In order for a slave to be freed in the South, they had to sneak out, and as long as they were not caught trying to flee the South, they were free. Seems like a good play off of Lincoln, right?

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This demonstrates how his mind is set on preventing further secession and maintaining the Union at any cost. Despite this Amendment never being ratified, it showed Lincoln’s dedication to preserving the nation. Lincoln’s practicality in supporting the nation covers up the fact that he stands against slavery. On August 22, 1862, he sent a letter to Horace Greenly stating, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it”(doc 5). In this letter, he clarifies that his primary goal is the preservation of the union, despite his feelings for slavery.

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In fact he said that if he could save the Union without freeing any slaves he would do it. Lincoln did believe that all men (including black men) should have the right to improve their condition in society and to get paid for their labor. However, he did not believe that black men could

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It would be more than difficult not to read Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address without some sense of pride or honor for one’s own country. He brings about a call to civility among all citizens striving for unity and harmony with one another. Lincoln understood the dilemma that slavery became for not only the Northerners attempting to abolish the practice entirely, but also for the Southerners perpetuating it in the first place. The fact that there was a faction rising in favor of slavery on a scale that would divide the country indefinitely and that Lincoln foresaw this danger demonstrates the level of prudence he was able to acquire up until his presidency. In this address, Lincoln stressed the importance of the nation staying unified and true to the principles set by

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