CHAPTER 15 centers around the Civil War, 1860–1865. Read the chapter and pay extra attention to the section on Lincoln’s Evolving Thoughts on Slavery, which can be found on page 439 (book page number) or 440 (PDF number) in the digital textbook.
Upon completion of the reading exercise, write a 250-word paper and answer the following questions in three paragraphs. How would you characterize Lincoln’s public position regarding slavery in August 1862? What was he prepared to do for
slaves, and under what conditions?
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Civil War
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However, even as he prioritized the Union, Lincoln was preparing to take action regarding slavery. He was drafting the Emancipation Proclamation, which he would issue in preliminary form the following month, in September 1862. This proclamation declared that slaves in Confederate-held territory would be freed.
The conditions under which Lincoln was prepared to act against slavery were primarily military. He saw emancipation as a potential tool to weaken the Confederacy by depriving it of its labor force and potentially encouraging enslaved people to join the Union army. The Emancipation Proclamation was, therefore, framed as a war measure, justified by his powers as Commander-in-Chief. It's important to note that, at this point, Lincoln's actions were limited to Confederate states still in rebellion, not to the border states that had remained in the Union.
Sample Answer
In August 1862, Lincoln's public position on slavery was evolving but remained cautious. While personally opposed to slavery, his primary goal was to preserve the Union. He articulated this stance clearly in his famous letter to Horace Greeley, stating, "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all 1 the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that." 2 This reveals a pragmatic approach where the fate of slavery was secondary to the preservation of the Union.Satisfaction Guaranteed
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