Devil Doc
When Death smiles, Corpsmen smile back
It was on this day in 1862 that President Lincoln announced one of the most important executive orders in American history, the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in rebel states free as of January 1, 1863. Since the Civil War had begun, various people had been urging Lincoln to free the slaves, but Lincoln wanted the war to be about secession, not slavery. He knew that the U.S. Constitution explicitly allowed slavery, but he believed that it did not allow secession, and he wanted to fight the war based on clear constitutional grounds.
But Lincoln had been having a hard year. He wasn't sleeping well or eating well. He'd been struggling for months with General McClellan, who refused to aggressively attack the Confederate Army. Volunteers for the military had grown scarce, and many Northern politicians claimed that Northerners didn't see the use of fighting a war over slavery that would leave slavery intact. Others, such as the former slave Frederick Douglass, argued that emancipation would encourage the slaves to join up with the North and fight for the Union Army.
And so, Lincoln changed his mind. He decided that he would issue the proclamation when his army secured a major victory. But the war only seemed to be getting worse. The Union Army was badly beaten at the Second Battle of Bull Run, and the Confederate Army began to push into the North for the first time in the course of the war. Many Northerners suddenly began to worry that they were losing the war, and members of Lincoln's own party began to question his leadership.
Then, on September 17th, the Union Army beat back the Confederates at Antietam, the bloodiest single day of the war. Five days later, on this day in 1862, Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. His cabinet members made a few minor changes, and the proclamation was publicly announced and published that day.
The proclamation did not end slavery altogether, but it encouraged slaves to rebel against their masters and support the Union. By the end of the war, more than 500,000 slaves had fled to freedom behind Northern lines. About 200,000 black soldiers and sailors, many of them former slaves, served in the armed forces. They helped the North win the war.
Doc.
But Lincoln had been having a hard year. He wasn't sleeping well or eating well. He'd been struggling for months with General McClellan, who refused to aggressively attack the Confederate Army. Volunteers for the military had grown scarce, and many Northern politicians claimed that Northerners didn't see the use of fighting a war over slavery that would leave slavery intact. Others, such as the former slave Frederick Douglass, argued that emancipation would encourage the slaves to join up with the North and fight for the Union Army.
And so, Lincoln changed his mind. He decided that he would issue the proclamation when his army secured a major victory. But the war only seemed to be getting worse. The Union Army was badly beaten at the Second Battle of Bull Run, and the Confederate Army began to push into the North for the first time in the course of the war. Many Northerners suddenly began to worry that they were losing the war, and members of Lincoln's own party began to question his leadership.
Then, on September 17th, the Union Army beat back the Confederates at Antietam, the bloodiest single day of the war. Five days later, on this day in 1862, Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. His cabinet members made a few minor changes, and the proclamation was publicly announced and published that day.
The proclamation did not end slavery altogether, but it encouraged slaves to rebel against their masters and support the Union. By the end of the war, more than 500,000 slaves had fled to freedom behind Northern lines. About 200,000 black soldiers and sailors, many of them former slaves, served in the armed forces. They helped the North win the war.
Doc.
