Lincoln and the Politics of Slavery
The Other Thirteenth Amendment and the Struggle to Save the Union
Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2016]
Format: Book
Description: 356 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.
In this landmark book, Daniel Crofts examines a little-known episode in the most celebrated aspect of Abraham Lincoln's life: his role as the "Great Emancipator." Lincoln always hated slavery, but he also believed it to be legal where it already existed, and he never imagined fighting a war to end it. In 1861, as part of a last-ditch effort to preserve the Union and prevent war, the new president even offered to accept a constitutional amendment that barred Congress from interfering with slavery in the slave states. Lincoln made this key overture in his first inaugural address. Crofts unearths the hidden history and political maneuvering behind the stillborn attempt to enact this amendment, the polar opposite of the actual Thirteenth Amendment of 1865 that ended slavery. This compelling book sheds light on an overlooked element of Lincoln's statecraft and presents a relentlessly honest portrayal of America's most admired president. Crofts rejects the view advanced by some Lincoln scholars that the wartime momentum toward emancipation originated well before the first shots were fired. Lincoln did indeed become the "Great Emancipator," but he had no such intention when he first took office. Only amid the crucible of combat did the war to save the Union become a war for freedom.
Series: Civil War America (Series)
Contents:
Prologue : the bread pill -- The antebellum context. The abolition movement and the problem of the Constitution ; Antislavery politics and the problem of the constitution ; The Republican Party, Abraham Lincoln, and the problem of the Constitution -- Origins of the other Thirteenth Amendment. Mutual misconceptions ; The Seward amendment ; The Corwin amendment -- Debating the other Thirteenth Amendment. Reaching across the abyss ; The unfazed and the alarmed ; The amendment assessed -- The abortive launch. Congress acts ; The president speaks ; The ratification fizzle -- Epilogue One. James M. Ashley and the Thirteenth Amendment -- Epilogue Two. John A. Bingham and the Fourteenth Amendment.
Subjects:
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Political and social views.
United States. Constitution. 13th Amendment -- History.
Enslaved persons -- Emancipation -- United States -- History -- 19th century.
Slavery -- Law and legislation -- United States -- History.
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Political and social views.
United States. Constitution. 13th Amendment -- History.
Enslaved persons -- Emancipation -- United States -- History -- 19th century.
Slavery -- Law and legislation -- United States -- History.
ISBN:
9781469627311
Availability | |||
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
HISTORY North Am. US Cro | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | In |
HISTORY North Am. US Cro | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | In |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-281)and index.