Lincoln and Freedom

Slavery, Emancipation, and the Thirteenth Amendment

Harold Holzer and Sarah Vaughn Gabbard

September 2007
cloth, 0-8093-2764-3, $34.95
978-0-8093-2764-5
320 pages, 6 x 9, 19 illus
American History/Lincoln

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Lincoln’s reelection in 1864 was a pivotal moment in the history of the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation had officially gone into effect on January 1, 1863, and the proposed Thirteenth Amendment had become a campaign issue. Lincoln and Freedom: Slavery, Emancipation, and the Thirteenth Amendment captures these historic times, profiling the individuals, events, and enactments that led to slavery’s abolition. Fifteen leading Lincoln scholars contribute to this collection, covering slavery from its roots in 1619 Jamestown, through the adoption of the Constitution, to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.

             This comprehensive volume, edited by Harold Holzer and Sara Vaughn Gabbard, presents Abraham Lincoln’s response to the issue of slavery as politician, president, writer, orator, and commander-in-chief. Topics include the history of slavery in North America, the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, the evolution of Lincoln’s view of presidential powers, the influence of religion on Lincoln, and the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation.

             This collection probingly explores slavery as a Constitutional issue, both from the viewpoint of the original intent of the nation’s founders as they failed to deal with slavery, and as a study of the Constitutional authority of the commander-in-chief as Lincoln interpreted it. Addressed are the timing of Lincoln’s decision for emancipation and its effect on the public, the military, and the slaves themselves.

             Other topics covered include the role of the U.S. Colored Troops, the election campaign of 1864, and the legislative debate over the Thirteenth Amendment. The volume concludes with a heavily illustrated essay on the role that iconography played in forming and informing public opinion about emancipation and the amendments that officially granted freedom and civil rights to African Americans.

             Lincoln and Freedom provides a comprehensive political history of slavery in America and offers a rare look at how Lincoln’s views, statements, and actions played a vital role in the story of emancipation.

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Foreword vii
Joan L. Flinspach

Introduction 1
Harold Holzer

1. Slavery during Lincoln’s Lifetime 7
James Oliver Horton

2. Lincoln’s Critique of Dred Scott as a Vindication of the Founding 20
Joseph R. Fornieri

3. Lincoln and the Limits of Constitutional Authority 37
Phillip Shaw Paludan

4. Lincoln, God, and Freedom: A Promise Fulfilled 48
Lucas E. Morel

5. “Sublime in Its Magnitude”: The Emancipation Proclamation 65
Allen C. Guelzo

6. Lincoln’s Summer of Emancipation 79
Matthew Pinsker

7. The Role of the Press 100
Hans L. Trefousse

8. Marching to Freedom: The U.S. Colored Troops 113
John F. Marszalek

9. Lincoln and the Rhetoric of Freedom 130
Ronald C. White Jr.

10. Ballots over Bullets: Freedom and the 1864 Election 143
David E. Long

 

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“Lincoln and Freedom provides abundant useful information, much of it new, on Abraham Lincoln, slavery, emancipation and the Thirteenth Amendment.  Moreover, the authors deal with their subjects through a variety of approaches and interpretive lenses, thereby furnishing readers with several perspectives on these important subjects.”—Richard W. Etulain, author of Beyond the Missouri: The Story of the American West

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Harold Holzer is cochairman of the U.S. Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and senior vice president for external affairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is the author, coauthor or editor of more than twenty previous books, and his scholarship has garnered many awards. Visit www.haroldholzer.com for more information.

Sara Vaughn Gabbard is the editor of Lincoln Lore, The Lincoln Museum’s quarterly publication, and vice president and director of development at The Lincoln Museum.