Who Freed the Slaves?

Author(s): James M. McPherson

Source: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 139, No. 1 (Mar., 1995), pp. 1-10
Published by: American Philosophical Society
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 Who Freed the Slaves?
JAMES M. MCPHERSON

George
HenryDavis 1886Professor
ofAmerican
History

T
PrincetonUniversity

Nhe traditional answerto the questionposed by the titleof this

paper is: AbrahamLincolnfreedthe slaves. In recentyears,
though,thisanswerhas been challengedas anotherexampleof
elitisthistory,
offocusingonlyon theactionsofgreatwhitemalesand
ignoringthe actionsof the overwhelming majority of the people,who
also makehistory. Ifwe wereto ask ourquestionofprofessional histori-
ans today,thereplywould,I think,be quitedifferent. As RobertEngs
put it: "THE SLAVESFREED THEMSELVES.!'Theysaw the CivilWar
as a potentialwarforabolitionwellbeforeLincolndid. By votingwith
theirfeetforfreedom -by escapingfromtheirmasterstoUnionmilitary
campsin theSouth-theyforcedtheissue ofemancipation on theLin-
coln administration.By creatinga situationin whichnorthern officials
would eitherhave to returnthem to slaveryor acknowledgetheir
freedom,these "contrabands," as theycame to be called,"actedreso-
lutelytoplacetheirfreedom-and thatoftheirposterity- on thewartime
agenda."2Unionofficers, thenCongress,and finallyLincolndecidedto
confiscatethishumanproperty belongingtotheenemyandputittowork
fortheUnionin theformofservants, teamsters,laborers,and eventually
soldiersin northernarmies.Weighedin the scale of Civil War,these
190,000black soldiersand sailorsand a largernumberof black army
laborerstippedthebalancein favorofUnionvictory.
Theforemost exponentoftheblackself-emancipation thesisis thehis-
torianand theologianVincentHardingwhosebook Thereis a River:The
BlackStruggle forFreedom in America, publishedin 1981,has become
almosta Bibleforthe argument."WhileLincolncontinuedto hesitate
aboutthelegal,constitutional,moral,and military aspectsofthematter,"
wroteHarding,"therelentlessmovement of the self-liberatedfugitives
intotheUnionlines . .. tooktheirfreedomintotheirown hands."The

l RobertF. Engs, "The Great American Slave Rebellion,"paper delivered to the Civil
War Instituteat GettysburgCollege, 27 June 1991, p. 3.
2 Ira Berlin, Barbara J. Fields, Thavolia
Glymph, Joseph P. Reidy,and Leslie S. Row-
land, eds., Freedom:A Documentary HistoryofEmancipation
1861-1867,ser. 1, vol. 1, The De-
structionofSlaveri (Cambridge. 1985). 2.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, VOL. 139, NO. 1, 1995

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2 JAMESM. McPHERSON

EmancipationProclamation, when it finallycame, merely"confirmed

and gave ambiguouslegal standingto thefreedomwhichblackpeople
had alreadyclaimedthroughtheirown surging,livingproclamations."3
This thesishas receivedthe stampof authority fromthe Freedmen
and SouthernSocietyprojectat theUniversity ofMaryland.The slaves,
writetheeditorsofthisproject,were"theprimemoversin securingtheir
own liberty."4BarbaraJ.Fieldshas givenwide publicityto thistheme.
On camerain the PBS televisiondocumentary "The CivilWar"and in
an essay in the volume accompanyingthe series, she insistedthat
"freedomdid not come to the slavesfromwordson paper,eitherthe
wordsofCongressor thoseofthePresident," but"fromtheinitiative of
the slaves."5
Thereare two corollariesof the self-emancipation thesis:first,that
Lincolnhinderedmorethanhe helpedthecause; and second,thatthe
imageofhimas the GreatEmancipator is a mythcreatedby whitesto
depriveblacksofcreditforachievingtheirownfreedom.This"reluctant
allyof blackfreedom," wroteHarding,"placed the preservation of the
whiteUnion above the deathof blackslavery." Even as late as August
1862,whenhe wrotehis famousletterto HoraceGreeleystatingthat"if
I could save theUnionwithoutfreeing anyslave,I woulddo it,"he was
"stilltrappedin his own obsessionwithsavingthe whiteUnion at all
costs,eventhecostofcontinuedblackslavery.76 Byexempting one-third
oftheSouthfromtheEmancipation Proclamation, writesBarbaraFields,
"Lincolnwas moredetermined toretainthegoodwilloftheslaveowners
thanto securethe libertyof the slaves'"DespiteLincoln,though,"no
humanbeingalivecouldhaveheldbackthetidethatswepttowardfree-
dom.:7ButthewhitemyththatLincolnfreedtheslavesdeniedAfrican-
Americanscreditforthisgreatrevolution; it was, writesRobertEngs,a
sortof tacitconspiracyamongwhitesto convinceblacksthat"white
America,personified byAbrahamLincoln,hadgiventhemtheirfreedom
[rather]thanallowthemto realizetheempowerment thattheirtakingof
itimplied.The poor,uneducatedfreedman fellforthatmasterful propa-
gandastroke.Butso havemostoftherestofus,blackand white,forover
a century!"8
The self-emancipation
thesisembodiesan important truth.Bycoming
intoUnionlines,by withdrawing theirlaborfromConfederate owners,
byworkingfortheUnionarmyand fighting as soldiersin it,slavesdid
playan activepartin achievingtheirown freedomand, forthatmatter,

3 VincentHarding, ThereIs a River:The BlackStruggle forFreedomin America(New York,

1981), 231, 230, 228, 235.
4 Berlin et al., eds., The Destruction
ofSlavery,3.
5 Barbara J. Fields, "Who Freed the Slaves?" in GeoffreyC. Ward, The Civil War:An
IllustratedHistory(New York,1990), 181.
6 Harding, ThereIs a River,254, 216, 223. For a similar argument,see Nathan Irvin
Huggins, Slave and Citizen:The LifeofFrederick Douglass (Boston, 1980), 77, 102-03.
7 Fields, "Who Freed the Slaves?" in Ward, The Civil War,179, 181.
8 Engs, "The Great American Slave Rebellion,"13.

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 WHO FREED THE SLAVES? 3

in preserving theUnion.Likeworkers, immigrants, women,and other

so-called"non-elites,"theslaveswereneitherpassivevictimsnorpawns
ofpowerfulwhitemales who loom so largein our traditional imageof
thepast.Theytoomadea history thathistorians havefinallydiscovered.
Thatis all to thegood. Butbychallenging the"myth"thatLincolnfreed
the slaves,proponentsofthe self-emancipation thesisare in dangerof
creatinganothermyth-thathe had littleto do withit. It mayturnout,
upon close examination, thatthe traditionalanswerto the question
"Who Freedthe Slaves?"is closerto beingtherightanswerthanis the
new and currently morefashionableanswer.
First,one mustask whatwas thesinequa nonofemancipation in the
1860s-the essentialcondition,theone thingwithoutwhichitwouldnot
havehappened.Theclearansweris: theCivilWar.Without thewarthere
wouldhavebeen no confiscation act,no Emancipation Proclamation, no
Thirteenth Amendment (notto mentiontheFourteenth and Fifteenth),
certainly no self-emancipation,and almostcertainlyno end ofslaveryfor
severalmoredecades. Slaveryhad existedin NorthAmericaformore
thantwocenturies before1861,butexceptfora tinyfraction ofslaveswho
foughtin theRevolution, orescaped,orboughttheirfreedom, therehad
beenno self-emancipation duringthattime.Everyslaveinsurrection and
insurrection conspiracyhad failedintheend. On theeveoftheCivilWar,
plantationagriculture was more profitable, slaverymore entrenched,
slaveownersmoreprosperous,and the "slavepower"moredominant
withinthe South,if not in the nationat large,thanit had everbeen.
Withoutthewar,the door to freedomwould have remainedclosed for
an indefinite time.
Whatbroughtwar and opened thatdoor?Secessionand therefusal
oftheUnitedStatesgovernment torecognizeitslegitimacy.In thesemat-
tersAbrahamLincolnmovesto centerstage.Seven statesseceded and
formedthe Confederacy because he won the presidencyon an anti-
slaveryplatform; fourmoreseceded aftershootingbrokeout when he
refusedto evacuateFortSumter;theshootingescalatedto full-scale war
becausehe calledouttroopstosuppressrebellion. Thecommondenomi-
natorin all the stepsthatopened the door to freedomwas the active
agencyof Lincolnas antislavery politicalleader,president-elect,
presi-
dent,and commanderin chief.
The statement quotedearlier, thatLincoln"placedthepreservation of
thewhiteUnionabovethedeathofblackslavery," whiletruein a narrow
sense,is misleadingwhen shornofitscontext.From1854,whenhe re-
turnedto politics,untilnominatedforpresidentin 1860the dominant,
unifying themeof Lincoln'scareerwas oppositionto the expansionof
slaveryas thefirststeptowardplacingitin thecourseofultimate extinc-
tion.Overand overagain,Lincolndenouncedslaveryas a "monstrous
injustice,""an unqualified
eviltothenegro,tothewhiteman,tothesoil,
and to the State'"He attackedhis main politicalrival,Stephen A.
Douglas,forhis"declared indifference"tothemoralwrongofslavery. The
principleoftheDeclaration ofIndependenceand theprinciple ofslavery,

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4 JAMESM. McPHERSON

said Lincoln, "cannot stand together.... Our republicanrobe is soiled"

by slavery."Let us repurifyit.... Let us readopt the Declaration of In-
dependence,and withit, the practices,and policy,whichharmonize
withit.... Ifwe do this,we shallnotonlyhave saved theUnion;but
we shallhave so savedit,as to make,and to keep it,forever worthyof
the saving."9
Southerners read Lincoln'sspeeches;theyknewby hearthis words
aboutthehouse dividedand theultimate extinction ofslavery.
Lincoln's
electionin 1860was a signthattheyhad lostcontrolofthenationalgov-
ernment; iftheyremainedin theUnion,theyfearedthatultimate extinc-
tionoftheirwayoflifewouldbe theirdestiny. Itwas notmerelyLincoln's
election,buthiselectionas a principled opponent ofslavery onmoral grounds
thatprecipitated secession.Abolitionists criticalof Lincolnforfalling
shortoftheirownstandardnevertheless recognizedthistruth.No longer
wouldtheslavepowerrulethenation,saidFrederick Douglass."Lincoln's
electionhas vitiatedtheirauthority, and brokentheirpower.710
But,we mightask, would nottheelectionofanyRepublicanin 1860
have precipitated secession?Probablynot, if the candidatehad been
EdwardBates,who mightconceivably havewontheelectionbuthad not
evenan outsidechanceofwinningthenomination. Yes,almostcertainly,
ifWilliamH. Sewardhad been the nominee.Seward'searliertalkof a
"higherlaw" and an "irrepressible conflict" had givenhima moreradical
reputation thanLincoln.But Sewardmightnothave won the election.
Moreto thepoint,ifhe had won,sevenstateswouldundoubtedly have
seceded,butSewardwouldhavefavoredconcessionstokeepmorefrom
goingout and perhapsto lurethosesevenback in. Most important of
all, he probablywould have evacuatedFortSumterand therebyextin-
guishedthesparkthatthreatened to flameintowar.As it was, Seward
did his bestto compelLincolnintoconcessionsand evacuation.
But Lincolnstood firm.When Sewardflirted withthe idea of sup-
portingtheCrittenden Compromise, Lincolnstiffened thebackbonesof
Sewardand otherkeyRepublicans."Entertain no proposition fora com-
promisein regardtotheextension ofslavery," he wrotetothem."Thetug
has to come,& betternow,thananytimehereafter." Crittenden'scom-
promise"wouldlose us everything we gainedbytheelection.Filibuster-
ingforall Southofus, and makingslavestateswouldfollow. .. to put
us againon the high-roadto a slaveempire."The proposalforconces-
sions,Lincolnpointedout,"acknowledges thatslaveryhas equal rights
withliberty, and surrenders all we havecontendedfor.... Wehavejust
carriedan electionon principles fairly statedto thepeople.Now we are
toldin advance,thegovernment shallbe brokenup,unlesswe surrender
to thosewe have beaten.... Ifwe surrender, it is theend ofus. They
willrepeattheexperiment upon us ad libitum. A yearwillnotpass, till

9 Roy P. Basler,ed., The CollectedWorks

ofAbrahamLincoln,9 vols. (New Brunswick,NJ,
1951-55,2:255, 275-76; 3:92.
10Douglass'Monthly,December 1860.

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 WHO FREED THE SLAVES? 5

we shallhaveto takeCuba as a conditionupon whichtheywillstayin

the Union.""
These wordsshed a different lighton the assertion,quoted earlier,
thatLincoln"placedthepreservation ofthewhiteUnionabovethedeath
ofblackslavery." The Crittenden Compromisedid indeedplace preser-
vationof the Unionabovethe deathof slavery.So did Seward;so did
most whiteAmericansduringthe secessioncrisis.But thatassertion
does notdescribeLincoln.He refusedto yieldthecoreofhis antislavery
philosophyto staythebreakupoftheOJnion. As Lincolnexpresseditin
a privateletterto his old friendAlexanderStephens,"Youthinkslavery
is rightand oughtto be extended;whilewe thinkitis wrong and ought
tobe restricted. ThatI supposeis therub."'12It was indeedtherub.Even
morethanin his electionto thepresidency, Lincoln'sagencyin refusing
tocompromise on theexpansionofslaveryoron FortSumterprovedde-
cisive.Ifanyothermanhad been in his position,thecourseofhistory-
and ofemancipation-would havebeen different. Herewe havewithout
questiona sinequa non.
It is quitetruethatonce thewarstarted,Lincolnmovedmoreslowly
and apparently morereluctantly towardmakingita warforfreedom than
black leaders,abolitionists, radicalRepublicans,and the slaves them-
selveswantedhimtomove.He did reassuresouthernwhitesthathe had
no intention and no constitutionalpowerto interfere withslaveryin the
states.In September1861and May 1862he revokedordersby Generals
JohnC. Fremontand David Hunterfreeingthe slavesof Confederates
in theirmilitary In December1861he forcedSecretary
districts. ofWar
Simon Cameronto deletefromhis annual reporta paragraphrecom-
mendingthefreeingand armingofslaves.And thoughLincolnsigned
the confiscation actsofAugust1861and July1862,whichprovidedfor
freeing someslavesownedbyConfederates, thislegislationdidnotcome
fromhis initiative. Out in the fieldit was the slaves who escaped to
Unionlinesand theofficers likeGeneralBenjaminButlerwho accepted
themas "contraband ofwar,"thattooktheinitiative.
All ofthisappearsto supportthethesisthatslavesfreedthemselves
and thatLincoln'simageas theiremancipator is a myth.Butletus take
a closerlook.No matter howmanythousandsofslavescameintoUnion
lines,the ultimatefateof the millionswho did not,as well as thefate
oftheinstitution ofslaveryitself,dependedon theoutcomeofthewar.
IftheNorthwon,slavery wouldbe weakenedifnotdestroyed; iftheCon-
federacywon, slaverywould surviveand perhapseven growstronger
fromthepostwarterritorial expansionofan independentand confident
slavepower.Thus Lincoln'semphasison thepriority ofUnionhad pos-
itiveimplicationsforemancipation,while prematureactionsagainst
slaverymightjeopardizethe cause of Union and therefore boomerang
in favorof slavery.

11 Basler, ed., CollectedWorks

ofLincoln,4:149-51, 154, 183, 155, 172.
12 Ibid., 160.

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6 JAMESM. McPHERSON

Lincoln'schiefconcernof 1861was to maintaina unitedcoalitionof

WarDemocratsand border-state Unionistsas wellas Republicansin sup-
portofthewareffort. To do thishe considereditessentialto definethe
war as beingwaged solelyforUnion,whichunitedthiscoalition,and
not againstslavery,whichwould fragment it. If he had let Fremont's
emancipationedictstand,explainedLincolnto his old friendOrville
Browning ofIllinois,itmighthavelostthewarbydrivingKentucky into
secession."I thinkto lose Kentucky is nearlythe same as to lose the
wholegame.Kentucky gone,we can nothold Missouri,nor,as I think,
Maryland.Theseall againstus, and thejob on ourhandsis toolargefor
us. We would as well consentto separationat once,includingthe sur-
renderofthiscapitol."''3
Thereis no reasonto doubtthesincerity-andsagacity-ofthisstate-
ment.Lincoln'sgreatest skillsas a politicalleaderwerehis sensitivity to
publicopinionand his sense of timing.Opinion in the Northbegan
to movetowardemancipation as an instrument ofwarin the springof
1862,thoughsucha stepatthattimeprobablywouldstillhaveweakened
morethanstrengthened theUnioncoalition.Duringthosespringmonths
Lincolnalternately coaxed and proddedborder-state Unioniststoward
recognition ofthe potentialescalationofthe conflict intoa war against
slaveryand towardacceptanceofhisplanforcompensated emancipation
in theirstates.He warnedsouthernUnionistsand northern Democrats
in thesummerof1862thathe could notfightthiswar"withelder-stalk
chargedwithrosewater.... Thisgovernment
squirts, cannotmuchlonger
playa gamein whichit stakesall, and itsenemiesstakenothing.714
Lincoln'smeaning,thoughveiled,was clear;he was aboutto add the
weaponofemancipation tohisarsenal.Forwhenhe pennedthesewarn-
ings,he had made up his mindto issue an emancipation proclamation.
Whereasa yearearlier,eventhreemonthsearlier,Lincolnhad believed
thatavoidanceoftheslaveryissue was necessaryto maintainthatknife-
edge balancein theUnioncoalition,thingshad now changed.The im-
minentprospectof Unionvictoryin the springhad been shreddedby
RobertE. Lee's successfulcounteroffensive in the Seven Days battles.
The risksof alienatingtheborderstatesand northern Democratswere
nowoutweighed bytheopportunity toenergizetheRepublicanmajority
and to mobilizepartoftheslavepopulationforthecause ofUnion-and
freedom.Lincolnhad becomeconvincedthatemancipation was "a mili-
tarynecessity,absolutelyessentialto the preservation of the Union."
"Theslaves,"he toldhiscabinet,were"undeniably an elementofstrength
to thosewho had theirservice,and we mustdecidewhetherthatele-
mentshouldbe withus or againstus." Lincolnhad earlierhesitatedto
act againstslaveryin the statesbecause the Constitution protectedit
there.Butnow he insistedthat"therebelscould notat the same time
throwofftheConstitution and invokeitsaid.... Decisiveand extensive

13 Ibid., 532.
14 Ibid., 5:346, 350.

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 WHO FREED THE SLAVES? 7

measures must be adopted.... We [want] the armyto strikemore vig-

orousblows.The Administration mustsetan example,and strikeat the
heartoftherebellion"- slavery.15
Lincolnwas done conciliating
theforces
ofconservatism. He had triedto maketheborderstatessee reason;now
"we mustmaketheforward movement" withoutthem."They[will]ac-
quiesce, if not immediately, soon." As fornorthern Democrats,"their
clubswouldbe used againstus takewhatcoursewe might'16
In 1864Lincolntolda visiting delegationofabolitionists
thattwoyears
earlier"manyof my strongest supportersurgedEmancipation beforeI
thoughtit indispensable,and, I maysay,beforeI thoughtthe country
readyforit. It is myconviction that,had theproclamation been issued
evensixmonthsearlierthanitwas,publicsentiment wouldnothavesus-
tainedit."'17Lincolncould actuallyhave made a case thatthe country
had not been readyforthe Emancipation Proclamationin September
1862,evenin January 1863.Democraticgainsin northern congressional
electionsin thefallof1862resultedin partfroma voterbacklashagainst
thepreliminary Proclamation. The moralecrisisin Unionarmiesduring
the winterof 1862-63grew in part froma resentfulconvictionthat
Lincolnhad transformed the purpose of the war fromrestoring the
Uniontofreeing theslaves.Without question,thisissuebitterly
divided
thenorthern people and threatened to erodesupportforthewar
fatally
effort-the veryconsequenceLincolnhad fearedin 1861.Not untilafter
thetwinmilitary victoriesat Gettysburg and Vicksburgdid divisiveness
diminishand emancipation gain somethingof an electoralmandatein
theoff-year stateelectionsof1863.In hisannualmessageofDecember8,
1863,Lincolnacknowledgedthathis Emancipation Proclamationa year
earlierhad been "followedby dark and doubtfuldays."But now, he
added, "thecrisiswhichthreatened to dividethe friendsoftheUnion
is past."18
Even thatstatement turnedout to be premature. In the summerof
1864,northernmoraleagain plummetedand the emancipationissue
once morethreatened to underminethewareffort. By August,Grant's
campaignin Virginiahad boggeddown in thetrenchesafterenormous
casualties,whileShermanseemedsimilarly stymiedbeforeAtlantaand
smallerUnionarmieselsewhereappearedto be accomplishing nothing.
Defeatism corrodedthewillofnortherners as theycontemplatedthestag-
geringcostofthisconflict in thelivesoftheiryoungmen.Lincolncame
underenormouspressureto open peace negotiations to end theslaugh-
ter.EventhoughJefferson Davis insistedthatConfederateindependence
was his essentialconditionforpeace, northern Democratsmanagedto
convincemanypeople thatonlyLincoln'sinsistenceon emancipation

15 Gideon Welles, "The Historyof Emancipation,"The Galaxy14 (Dec. 1872), 842-43.

16 JohnG. Nicolay and JohnHay, AbrahamLincoln:A History,10 vols. (New York,1890),
6:158-63.
17 FrancisB. Carpenter,Six Monthsat theWhiteHouse withAbrahamLincoln(New York,
1866), 76-77.
18 Basler, ed., CollectedWorks
ofLincoln,7:49-50.

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8 JAMESM. McPHERSON

blockedpeace.A typicalDemocratic editorialdeclaredthat"tensofthou-

sands ofwhitemen mustyetbitethe dustto allaythenegromaniaof
the President."'9
EvenRepublicanslikeHoraceGreeley, who had criticized Lincolntwo
yearsearlierforslownessto embraceemancipation, now criticizedhim
forrefusing to abandonitas a precondition
fornegotiations. The Demo-
craticnationalconventionadopteda platform forthe 1864presidential
torestoretheUnion-withslavery.
electioncallingforpeace negotiations
Everypoliticalobserver, includingLincolnhimself,believedin August
thattheRepublicanswouldlose theelection.The NewYorkTimeseditor
and RepublicannationalchairmanHenryRaymondtold Lincolnthat
"two special causes are assigned [for]this greatreactionin public
sentiment,-the wantofmilitary success,and theimpression... thatwe
canhave peace withUnionifwe would ... [butthatyou are] fighting
notforUnionbut forthe abolitionofslavery."20
The pressurecaused Lincolnto wavertemporarily, butnotto buckle.
Instead,he told weak-kneedRepublicansthat"no humanpowercan
subdue thisrebellionwithoutusingthe Emancipation leveras I have
done." Some 130,000black soldiersand sailorswere fighting forthe
Union,said Lincoln.Theywouldnotdo so iftheythoughttheNorthin-
tended to "betraythem.... If theystake theirlives forus theymust be
promptedby the strongestmotive . .. the promise of freedom.And the
promise being made, must be kept .... There have been men who pro-
posed to me to returnto slaverytheblackwarriors" who had foughtfor
theUnion."I shouldbe damnedin time& in eternity forso doing.The
worldshallknowthatI willkeepmyfaithtofriendsand enemies,come
whatwill."'2'
WhenLincolnsaid this,he expectedto lose theelection.In effect he
was sayingthathe wouldratherbe rightthanpresident.In manyways
thiswas his finesthour.As mattersturnedout, he was bothrightand
president.Sherman'scaptureofAtlanta, intheShen-
Sheridan'svictories
andoahValley, and military successelsewheretransformed thenorthern
mood fromdeepestdespairin Augustto determined confidencebyNo-
vember,and Lincolnwas triumphantly reelected.He won withoutcom-
promising on theemancipation question.It is instructive
to considerthe
possiblealternativesto thisoutcome.IftheDemocratshad won, at best
theUnionwouldhavebeen restored withouta Thirteenth Amendment;
at worstthe Confederacy would have achievedits independence.In
eithercase theinstitutionofslaverywouldhave survived.Thatthisdid
nothappenwas owingmoretothesteadfast purposeofAbrahamLincoln
thanto anyothersinglefactor.
The proponents oftheself-emancipation thesis,however, wouldavow

19ColumbusCrisis,3 Aug. 1864.

20Raymond to Lincoln, 22 Aug. 1864, quoted in Basler,ed., CollectedWorksofLincoln,
7:518.
21 Ibid., 500, 506-07.

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 WHO FREED THE SLAVES? 9

thatall thisis irrelevant

becausebythetimeoftheEmancipation Procla-
mation"no humanbeingalivecouldhaveheldbackthetidethatswept
towardfreedom." ButI disagree.The tideoffreedomcould have been
sweptback.On numerousoccasionsduringthewar,itwas. WhenUnion
forcesmovedthrough orwerecompelledtoretreat fromareasoftheCon-
federacy wheretheirpresencehad attracted and liberated
slaves,thetide
of slaveryclosed in behindthemand reenslavedthosewho could not
keepup withtheretreating oradvancingarmies.Manyofthethousands
thatdid keep up withtheArmyoftheOhio whenitwas forcedout of
Alabamaand TennesseebytheConfederate invasionofKentucky in the
fallof1862wereseizedand soldas slavesbyKentuckians. Lee'sarmycap-
tureddozensofblackpeopleinPennsylvania inJune1863and sentthem
Southintoslavery.HundredsofblackUnionsoldierscapturedbyCon-
federateforceswerereenslaved.Lincolnhimselftooknoteofthisphe-
nomenonwhen he warnedthatif"thepressureofthewar shouldcall
offourforcesfromNew Orleansto defendsome otherpoint,whatis to
preventthemastersfromreducingtheblacksto slaveryagain;forI am
toldthatwhenevertherebelstakeanyblackprisoners, freeorslave,they
immediatelyauctionthem off!"22 The editorsof the Freedmenand
SouthernSocietyprojectconcedethat"Southernarmiescouldrecapture
black people who had already reached Union lines. . . . Indeed, any
Unionretreat
couldreversetheprocessofliberation
and throwmenand
women who had tasted freedomback into bondage. . . Their travail
testifiedto thelinkbetweenthemilitary successoftheNorthern armies
and the libertyof Southernslaves."23
Precisely.Thatis the crucialpoint.Most slaves did not emancipate
themselves; theywereliberated byUnionarmies.Andwhowas thecom-
manderin chiefthatcalledthesearmiesintobeing,appointedtheirgen-
erals,and gave themdirection and purpose?There,indubitably, is our
sinequa non.
Butletus acknowledgethatonce thewarwas carriedintoslaveterri-
tory,no matterhow itcameout,theensuing"friction and abrasion"(as
Lincolnonce put it) would enable thousandsof slaves to escape to
freedom.In thatrespect,a degreeof self-emancipation didoccur.But
evenon a largescale,suchemancipation was verydifferentfromabolition
of the institutionof slavery.That requiredUnion victory;it required
Lincoln'sreelectionin 1864;itrequiredtheThirteenth Amendment. Lin-
colnplayeda vitalroleinalloftheseachievements. Itwas also hispolicies
and his skillfulpoliticalleadershipthatset in motiontheprocessesby
whichthereconstructed or UnioniststatesofLouisiana,Arkansas,Ten-
nessee,Maryland,and Missouriabolishedtheinstitution in thosestates
duringthewar itself.
Regrettably, Lincolndid notlivetosee thefinalratification
oftheThir-
teenthAmendment. Butifhe had neverlived,it seemssafeto say that

22 Ibid., 5:421.
23 Berlinet al., eds., The Destruction
ofSlavery,35-36.

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10 JAMESM. McPHERSON

we wouldnothavehad a Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.In thatsense,

the traditional answerto the question"Who Freedthe Slaves?"is the
rightanswer.Lincolndid notaccomplishthisin themannersometimes
symbolically portrayed, by breakingthe chainsofhelplessand passive
bondsmenwiththestrokeofa pen. Butbypronouncing slaverya moral
evilthatmustcometo an end and thenwinningthepresidency in 1860,
byrefusing to compromise on theissue ofslavery'sexpansionor on Fort
Sumter,bycarefulleadershipand timingthatkepta fragileUnionistco-
alitiontogether yearofwarand committed
in thefirst itto emancipation
inthesecond,byrefusing tocompromise thispolicyoncehe had adopted
it, and by prosecuting the war to unconditionalvictoryas commander
in chiefofan armyofliberation, AbrahamLincolnfreedtheslaves.

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