Question

HELP ME PLEASE!!!!

According to Amos Lewis, why did Lincoln not free all enslaved persons in the nation with the Emancipation Proclamation? What problem does this partial emancipation present?

Answer 1

Lincoln had no constitutional authority to free slaves. That is essentially ruling by decree, and we do not live in a dicatorship.

Lincoln's constitutional authority for the Emancipation Proclamation was being Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States (a power he is given by Article II of the Constitution). As such, he was in essence dictator over areas occupied by Union troops and under military occupation. So the Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves who at that time were in areas controlled by the Union armies. This of course did not include states not then in rebellion, such as Maryland and New Jersey, where slavery persisted until the ratificaiton of the 13th Amendment in December 1865.

What problems does it present? It certainly presented problems to the Southerners living under occupation, since all of a sudden they didn't have slaves, and it presented some problems to General Grant, who had to keep order in a suddenly changing social situation. He solved that problem partly by recruiting newly free blacks into the Union Army, where they generally served with distinction and honor.

It's hard to think of other problems it presented. To the contrary, had Lincoln attempted to free slaves even in areas not under direct military occupation -- that is, had he attempted to rule the nation by decree -- it would have presented a great and dangerous challenge to the principle of constitutional law. It would have set a precedent, that the Constitution can be suspended in times of crisis. It could very easily have led to Lincoln deciding to cancel the elections of 1864, and perhaps to his assuming dictatorial powers generally.

We are very fortunate that Lincoln was a humble man, and respected the limits of the Constitution, even in a time of great crisis -- and did NOT cancel elections, and did NOT attempt to rule by decree, even in the area of freeing the slaves. His restraint even in a time of great temptation is one of the reasons he is a great President.