On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Although long overdue, it began the chain of events that ended slavery in the United States. Today, I’d like to explain some things about the Emancipation Proclamation and, hopefully, clear away some misconceptions people might have about it and its author.

As I wrote a couple blog posts ago when discussing the Battle of Antietam and McClellan’s missed opportunity there, the proclamation was, above all else, a military measure. Slavery helped the South‘s armies fight more effectively. Slaves moved supplies behind the lines. They grew food that fed soldiers. Defending the institution of slavery was the South’s prime motivation for trying to leave the United States. Ending slavery in rebellious areas, therefore, helped Union armies and hurt Confederate ones.

Also, consider how Lincoln justified the Emancipation Proclamation. Notice that it wasn’t an act passed by Congress. Lincoln issued the proclamation under his war powers as Commander-In-Chief. While fully justifiable, for the reasons described above, he also did so to prevent future Congresses or the Supreme Court from overturning his action. The idea that the Supreme Court might overturn an antislavery measure might seem ludicrous today. It wasn’t in 1862, however. Recall that the infamous Dred Scott decision was only four years old at the time.

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How Many Slaves did the
Emancipation Proclamation Free?

The answer is that it freed zero slaves. Yes, zero. Although about four million people lived in slavery in the US, recall that the Emancipation Proclamation only applied to areas in rebellion against the United States. By definition, areas in rebellion didn’t recognize the authority of the US government, so it had no force there. Plus, the so-called “border slave states,” states that had slavery but never joined the Confederacy (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, and the western counties of Virginia that became West Virginia), were exempt from the proclamation because they weren’t in rebellion.

This brings up an interesting debate that Civil War historians sometimes spar over. Since the proclamation freed zero slaves, who should get credit for bringing freedom to slaves during the war? Were slaves in rebellious areas liberated by Union armies, or did they liberate themselves by running away? Obviously, the answer is both, but the reason the debate exists is important. For years, historians tended to look at things in a top-down manner. They focused on the role of Union forces helping liberate slaves. Only in the past few decades have historians balanced this by also taking a bottom-up approach and recognizing the bravery of individual slaves who ran away to freedom at their own risk.

Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Slavery

Another widely misunderstood issue is Abraham Lincoln’s attitude about slavery. It is far too simplistic to say that Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, therefore he must have favored equality. The reality is far more complex. It does seem fair to say he felt slavery morally wrong. He said so several times. That doesn’t mean, however, he regarded slaves as equal to other Americans and believed they should have the same rights as white people. On this topic, he was conflicted and changed his views frequently.

When I teach about the lead-up to the Civil War, I have my students read the chapter titled “Lincoln, Douglas, and the Implications of Slavery” from David Potter’s book The Impending Crisis. My students are amazed at the complexity and depth of the issue of slavery in 1850s America and enjoy learning how Lincoln struggled with what to do about slavery. At one point, he favored “returning” the slaves to Africa, even though nearly all were born in the United States (the legal slave trade ended in 1808), had never been to Africa, and didn’t know any African languages. At other times he simply admitted he didn’t know what to do if slavery came to an end.

I hope this post has proved educational about the Emancipation Proclamation and some of the issues surrounding it. It remains one of the signature events in United States history. Besides helping thousands of slaves to individual freedom, it helped Union forces win the Civil War and contributed to the end of slavery nationwide a few years later.

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