The Emancipation Proclamation: Miniature Editions of the Document that Saved America

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Published by Boston, 1863

Pamphlet. The Proclamation of Emancipation, by the President of the United States, to Take Effect January 1st, 1863. [Boston, MA, John Murray Forbes, Dec. 1862]. 7 pp. + pink titled wraps, 2? x 3? in. With ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Pamphlet. Proclamation of Emancipation, by the President of the United States, January 1st, 1863. [Boston, MA, John Murray Forbes, ca. Jan. 20, 1863]. 8 pp., plus printed wraps, 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 in. "All persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States are and henceforward shall be free."Both the preliminary and final proclamation printings were distributed both in the North and through soldiers in the field. The miniature preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is the only contemporary separate pamphlet printing. Both the preliminary and final proclamation printings were distributed both in the North and through soldiers in the field. The miniature preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is the only contemporary separate pamphlet printing.On the preliminary proclamation, as evidence of slavery's role in the war and Confederacy, a quote from the Confederate Vice President is printed on the rear wrapper: "Slavery the Chief Corner-Stone. / 'This stone (slavery), which was rejected by the first builders, is become the chief stone of the corner in our new edifice.' - Speech of Alex. H. Stephens, Vice President of the so-called Confederate States, delivered March 31, '61."Historical BackgroundPresident Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. With this Executive Order, he took a decisive stand on the most contentious issue in American history, redefined the Union's goals and strategy, and sounded the death knell for slavery.The text of his proclamation reveals the major issues of the Civil War: slave labor as a Confederate resource; slavery as a central war issue; the status of African Americans who escaped to Union lines; courting the border states; Constitutional and popular constraints on emancipation; hopes of reunion; questions of Northern acceptance of black soldiers; and America's place in a world moving towards abolition. The President took the action, "sincerely believed to be an act of justice," knowing that it might cost him the election.Lincoln had always believed slavery to be immoral, and fought its expansion. At the same time, he recognized that the president did not possess the Constitutional power to abolish the institution. In a message to Congress on July 4, 1861, Lincoln stated that he had "no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with slavery in the States where it exists." Soon after, he began to describe slaves as an economic and military "element of strength to those who had their service," telling his advisers, "we must free the slaves or be ourselves subdued." As the war dragged on, the "military necessity" of emancipation grew more apparent. African Americans helped force the issue by "self-emancipation"; escaping to Union lines. With the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln dramatically tied the Union's war aims to ending slavery. Whether they approved or not, after January 1, 1863, Americans could no longer deny that emancipation was central to the Union war effort. Signing the Proclamation carried considerable risk for Lincoln, whose paramount aim was to restore the Union.He saw that anti-abolition sentiment was widely shared in large parts of the North and throughout the army. He also knew that the Union hold on the five slave states that had remained loyal (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia) was tenuous at best, and that maintaining it was absolutely critical. Lincoln reportedly said that while he hoped to have God on his side, he must have Kentucky. Though ready to lay the groundwork for emancipation, Lincoln feared that delivering the Proclamation at the wrong time would doom its chances for public acceptance and harm the Union cause.In the first week of July 1862, (See website for full description). Seller Inventory # 22077.97

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Emancipation Proclamation: Miniature ...
Publisher: Boston
Publication Date: 1863
Binding: Softcover
Condition: Fine
Book Type: Pamphlet