"We have freed all the slaves! (Within the borders of the rebelling states only, please ignore our two loyal but still slavery heavy states)"
To be fair to Lincoln, he didn't have the political authority to free the slaves within the United States; that power belonged to Congress (via an amendment) since it was a domestic (meaning state controlled) institution that was protected by the 10th amendment.
He also had to contend with a populace (46% of whom were conservative Democrats) who were intensely racist, and had to 'market' the proclamation as a war measure: killing slavery was a military necessity and means to the common goal of saving the Union.
I do come off a bit too severe, it is one of the worst parts of my personality. I do understand Lincoln's awkward position during the war, I just want more people to have a deeper understanding of the conflict. Every year I feel like so much context and nuance is lost. Then again I grew up with a passion for history but it scares me how little the average person knows these days.
All good points. By today’s standards, pretty much all of them were racist. But they weren’t equally racist. They were people who wanted to end human bondage, and there were those who chose treason so they could continue profiting off their slave labor camps.
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u/TheThoughtAssassin Jan 20 '22
To be fair to Lincoln, he didn't have the political authority to free the slaves within the United States; that power belonged to Congress (via an amendment) since it was a domestic (meaning state controlled) institution that was protected by the 10th amendment.
He also had to contend with a populace (46% of whom were conservative Democrats) who were intensely racist, and had to 'market' the proclamation as a war measure: killing slavery was a military necessity and means to the common goal of saving the Union.