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Americans again need to become reaquainted with the spirit of America’s heritage, especially the true spirit of Abraham Lincoln.

Summer of 1862: A New Birth of Freedom Conceived by Lincoln



Over one hundred and fifty years ago, in the heated summer of 1862, in the midst of the horrible American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln conceived a rebirth of freedom that would alter the course of that war, which would ultimately alter the course of the United States, as well as the history of the world. In essence, within the intense crucible of the Civil War, Lincoln manifested a decision to end slavery through the power he held as president. He came to the conclusion that he could expedite the end of the war by expediting the end of slavery. In July of 1862, Lincoln came to essentially formulate a Declaration of Independence for those in America yet yearning to be free.
One of the most controversial, and oftentimes most confusing of Abraham Lincoln’s efforts was his presidential decree known as the Emancipation Proclamation. It was one of the most important actions of Lincoln’s presidency, and definitely represented a turning point in the history of the United States. Yet, many Americans do not fully appreciate the deeper value of Lincoln’s intent to free the slaves, and still others possess a distorted or weak understanding of the real consequences of his executive action. Regardless of confusion and controversy, this one action is a testimony to the strength of a president who brought America back to its original foundation. Many Americans may have the wrong idea about the Emancipation Proclamation as it did not proclaim freedom for all slaves throughout the U.S. Lincoln’s executive order was basically a presidential directive “freeing” the slaves in the rebellious states of a Confederacy that was actively fighting the Army of the Republic for the southerners “right” to withdraw from the Union, and govern their states without federal infringement upon their sovereignty, and with zero interference in their perceived “right” to own human beings. Right around this time of year in July of 1862, Lincoln made his determination of this course of action as he felt grave concerns over the inability of Union forces to defeat the Confederate Army. Also in this same time, he was aware that a foreign government had commenced an invasion of Mexico. Although often studied within a vacuum, the American Civil War had attracted the attention of the great powers of Europe, and this created complications as the Confederate States seriously sought aid from both France and Great Britain.

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Needless to mention, this dark period in American history reveals an enemy within, which was intent upon ripping the nation apart, but additionally there existed a foreign enemy in a good position to aid the Confederate enemy on America’s southern border. Initially, Napoleon III, the Emperor of France, had offered the services of Great Britain, Russia, and France to help negotiate the conflict between the North and South. But, Lincoln’s administration rejected the sly offer, which would have left slavery solidified in the Confederate States of America once accepted as a legitimate nation. However, in a display of his true colors, the French emperor commenced his invasion of Mexico in the summer of 1862. Yet, Lincoln’s Administration was essentially incapable of doing much to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, which deemed such actions to be acts of war upon the U.S. as well as the nations involved. Overall, the Union appeared fairly impotent in this time, and Lincoln shared his grave concerns when he wrote later to Francis Carpenter (the artist who painted the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation): It had got to be midsummer of 1862. Things had gone from bad to worse, until I felt that we had reached the end of our rope on the plan of operations that we had been pursuing; that we had about played our last card, and must change our tactics, or lose the game! I now determined upon the adoption of the emancipation policy and without consulting with, or the knowledge oF​ ​the Cabinet, I prepared the original draft of the proclamation…

Ironically, President Lincoln had not initially considered the immediate emancipation of the slaves as wise, and preferred that such an entrenched institution could be dismantled gradually over time through the slow economic eradication of profit derived from free labor. Slavery had existed in North America for 170 years before the United States had been born, and was much more firmly rooted in the Deep South than anywhere else in America. Lincoln was concerned about the welfare of the well-being of the whole country. He believed that the sudden end of slavery would damage the nation as a whole. Lincoln was also aware of the steady stream of escapees via the Underground Railroad, which usually directed runaway slaves to freedom in the free northern states and to Canada since the British territories had previously outlawed slavery. The Underground Railroad represented an outright defiance of the rejuvenated American Fugitive Slave Act (one consequence of the Compromise of 1850). While the Underground Railroad had formed in the 1700s, it reached its peak of activity after 1850, as defiance of the Fugitive law increased, and intensified right up to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Actually, one of the basic provisions of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was presidential defiance and essential nullification of the Fugitive Slave Act. This in effect supplied outright encouragement to slaves to flee to Union Army lines during the rest of the war. However, it should be understood that Lincoln’s edict had little real effect in freeing any slaves. Yet, when slaves heard of this proclamation, they realized the man in the White House was on their side, and it gave them courage to escape to freedom. Certainly on the surface, Lincoln’s decree may have appeared as a futile attempt at freeing slaves held captive in the Confederate States, and may have even seemed as if Lincoln were quite desperate and a bit premature in his efforts to free the slaves since the Union Army was struggling to win significant battles against the Confederacy, not to mention their inability to win the war. In the moment, his decree seemed an impotent demand from a president with virtually no authority over the Confederate States of America. But, the Proclamation was not intended to free all slaves all throughout America. It could not and Lincoln respected his limitations under the law of the land.


Despite how seemingly meaningless the Emancipation Proclamation appeared to be, it was brilliant statesmanship by Lincoln. Despite what people perceived about the Emancipation Proclamation during the rest of the war, this executive order actually accomplished much more than could be measured by the numbers of former slaves set free in the heart of Dixie. Actually, one direct result of Lincoln’s mandate took place within the black community as word of the president’s action spread through the enslaved population. Lincoln demonstrated through his actions that he cared about abolishing slavery, and it emboldened the slaves throughout the country to trust Lincoln, and to take matters into their own hands and escape while they had the opportunity. Another major result of the Proclamation of Emancipation was that the presidential action undermined the efforts of the Confederate government to attain substantial support from Great Britain. The words of the Proclamation challenged the international perception of the rebel Confederate States as justified in rebellion because they had attempted to portray themselves as the victims of an oppressive federal regime whose sovereignty had been usurped by a dictator. Lincoln’s proclamation revealed the Confederate States as intent upon perpetuating slavery, and this derailed the efforts of the Jefferson Davis government to secure British financial support. Since Great Britain had outlawed slavery before the U.S., they would reject future entreaties to send foreign aid to the Confederacy. The more fundamental result from the Emancipation Proclamation was that it established the foundation for the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment for which Lincoln fought so hard. The Proclamation paved the way for the effort to push the Thirteenth Amendment through Congress and out to the states for ratification. Mr. Lincoln had succeeded in his re-conception of Liberty, and although he paid the ultimate price for his firm hold upon self-evident truths, he helped Americans in his time to become reaquainted with the spirit of America’s heritage, so that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people would not perish from the planet. Americans again need to become reaquainted with the spirit of America’s heritage, especially the true spirit of Abraham Lincoln.

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Dennis Jamison -- Bio and Archives

Dennis Jamison reinvented his life after working for a multi-billion dollar division of Johnson & Johnson for several years. Currently retired from West Valley College in California, where he taught for nearly 10 years, he now writes articles on history and American freedom for various online publications.

Formerly a contributor to the Communities at the Washington Times and Fairfax Free Citizen, his more current articles appear in Canada Free Press and Communities Digital News. During the 2016 presidential primaries, he was the leader of a network of writers, bloggers, and editors who promoted the candidacy of Dr. Ben Carson. Jamison founded “We the People” - Patriots, Pilgrims, Prophets Writers’ Network and the Citizen Sentinels Network. Both are volunteer groups for grassroots citizen-journalists and activists intent on promoting and preserving the inviolable God-given freedoms rooted in the founding documents. 

Jamison also co-founded RedAmericaConsulting to identify, counsel, and support citizen-candidates, who may not have much campaign money, but whose beliefs and deeds reflect the role of public servants rather than power-hungry politicians.  ​


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