The Second Confiscation Act

In July of 1862, Congress passed into law The Second Confiscation Act. It paved the way for the Emancipation Proclimation, by declaring that Confederates who did not surrender within 60 days were to be punished by having their slaves freed. Today, as with the Emancipation Proclimation, I am posting the Act in a pristine state. Later in the week I will give my impressions and comments. Coming next week, I'll examine "The Prayer of Twenty Millions", the open letter to Mr. Lincoln published by Horace Greeley. I will also examine Mr. Lincoln's reply, which may surprise you.

My Thoughts on the Emancipation Proclimation

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

There was a 100-day grace period. According to this paragraph the only slaves freed are those in states in rebellion. Thus, this proclimation did nothing for the 90,369 slaves being held in Deleware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, the nation's capitol. How can any person with the capacity for reason ever believe that this war was fought to bring an end to slavery, when there were over 3000 slaves in the United States capitol? That is one slave for every 22 free persons. This Emancipation Proclimation did nothing for them.

"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."

Establishes what conditions qualify a state as not being in rebellion. Presumably to facilitate the application of the preceeding paragraph. When taken with the above paragraph, one is led to understand that if a state is able to send a duly elected representative to Congress by January 1, 1863, then that state may keep its slaves.

Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.

And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.

Now we are getting serious. This is a fairly momentous paragraph.

Lincoln enacts this proclimation as a war measure, rather than going straight into an amendment process. The advantage is that it is enacted immediately as a war measure. The disadvantage is that, as a war measure, it only applies while the war is on. I believe he did not want to risk a lengthy ratification debate and vote, one which he wasn't certain the proclimation could carry anyway. So, he opted for the certainty of a limited measure, rather than risk risk it all and lose.

What was far more compelling to me, especially in light of my purpose for this blog, was this: " a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion". How was freeing the slaves, an act limited to only the states in rebellion, necessary for suppressing the rebellion? That freedom was only on paper anyway, until northern troops arrived and liberated a given slave population. There was no military advantage, neither tactical nor strategic gained by issuing this proclimation.

Here he also plainly states that the military will be used to secure and maintain this freedom. Thus, with this clause Mr. Lincoln completely redefines the purpose for the use of military force against the South.

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.

Encourages freed slaves to refrain from violence (presumably of a retaliatory sort) and to become productive members of society ASAP.

And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.

Establishes the eligibility of freed slaves to join the army and navy.

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

Here we have another eventful passage. Lincoln states that this is a just proclimation. OK, I'll buy that. “Warranted by the Constitution”? I'm a little fuzzy on what that means, but it seems to say that the Constitution in some way backs this up or empowers it. How? If it did, would there have even been a need for a proclimation such as this? Or maybe he is referencing the “all men are created equal” and “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”, as the warrantors and this proclimation is an extension of that. “Upon military necessity”? This goes back to the above passage about this proclimation being necessary to suppress the rebellion.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

Conclusion

Most significantly, this document did NOTHING to outlaw slavery. That wouldn't happen until December of 1865, with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. It only freed slaves being held in certain areas of states in rebellion. In Deleware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia there was a total slave population of 706,338, according to the census of 1860, that were not benefited by this proclimation. There were a dozen counties (parishes) in Louisiana, and six counties in Virginia that were not affected b the proclimation. It would be difficult to determine the exact slave population of those individual locales. That amounts to 18% of the slave population left in bondage. Left in bondage in states under federal control and authority, supposedly. Why? Why were states still belonging to the Union (all but Tennessee, and the excluded counties mentioned), still subject to federal law, allowed to keep slaves, even in the face of this proclimation?

As I stated above, the freedom granted by this wasn't made real until the slaves were actually liberated by Union troops. No slave owners automatically released their slaves just because Mr. Lincoln declared they were now free men. So, what was the real purpose of this?

Publicity. Lincoln had to polarize the North, to get them behind this war effort, and in the process, to get them behind re-electing him in 1864. Without some polarizing event, the Northern populace would have replaced Lincoln with a candidate who advocated reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict. This is the reason for so many of the eccentricities of the proclimation. Consider:

It was a war measure so it would go into effect swiftly, and under his authority as Commander-in-Chief. That made it clear that it was President Lincoln that freed the slaves.

An amendment ratification process would have been drawn out, taking the focus off the nobility of freeing the slaves, and off Lincoln as the architect.

It made it official that from that point on the Federal army was fighting for the express purpose of freeing the slaves, a just and noble cause that people could rally 'round.

The Emancipation Proclimation was a publicity stunt designed to keep Lincoln in office and the North in the war. In the pursuit of those goals, it was a stunning success. But as the document of freedom, set out to break the chains of slavery, it was all smoke and mirrors. Union officers had been under orders since March 13, 1862, to disregard the Fugitive Slave Act and declare free any slaves they found or liberated. This was essentially how the Emancipation Proclimation worked in practice. Thus, as a measure to free the slaves, it did absolutely nothing that wasn't already being done. All the while it was being lauded as the end to slavery, and Mr. Lincoln was collecting his accolades as the Great Emancipator, it was being ignored that Mr. Lincoln and his proclimation left 1 slave out of every 5 in chains. The re-election he won as a result of the proclimation would extend the war another 2 years and cost over 140,000 more American lives.

The Emancipation Proclimation

How many of you have actually read this document? Since the central premise of my effort here is that the war was not about slavery, it seems appropriate that we examine this historical document. As with the Confederate Constitution, it is linked to at left. Coming later this week will be my personal commentary on the document, but for now read it, and study it, in its pristine state.

Confederate Constitution

On a separate page, link to the left, I have uploaded the Confederate Constitution. It is my hopeful plan to post articles examining the document, as well as commentary, and a comparison with the United States Constitution. But for now, hopefully you will find the constitution interesting.

A Brief Disclaimer

I just wanted to include a brief entry to explain my purposes and desires for this blog. I want to restate here that I am not a racist. At least not excessively. Anyone who states unequivocally that they are not racist is lying. Everyone is guilty on occasion of racist thoughts and feelings. It is human nature. What makes a difference is our reaction to our racist thoughts. Do we fight them or surrender to them?

But, I digress. With this blog, it is my wish to explore the following:

・ The true causes of the war;

・ The Confederate army was not a rabble of hillbillies and rednecks fighting to keep their slaves;

・ The true sentiments in the North and South concerning slavery and Negroes;

・ The efforts of the Federal government to transition Negroes from slavery to being full and productive free citizens;

・ The “what-ifs”, the endless possible futures had this or that led to a Confederate victory;

・ Finally, the lesser explored changes wrought on the American landscape by the Federal victory.

At no point will I engage in, nor indulge comments concerning, speculations relating to the continuation of slavery (in the event of Confederate victory), a return to slavery, nor shall I ever propose a new state of secession, rebellion, or revolt.

Now, having established the basis under which this blog shall be conducted, allow me to close this disclaimer with these thoughts. It is my most heart-felt wish that whoever reads this comes away from it with something good. Maybe your eyes will be opened to the real causes and you will now be free to develop a new appreciation for the South. Maybe you will learn that in many cases the Confederate government actually had more honorable intentions toward slaves than the Federal government. Maybe, if you are a Southerner, you will learn more concrete reasons to be proud of your heritage and new “ammunition” with which to defend your pride.

If we are to believe, as we have been taught, that the war was about slavery, and the North was fighting to free the slaves, then by inference we must also believe that the South was fighting to continue holding African-Americans in bondage. Operating under such beliefs, the only conclusion that may rightly be drawn is that the South, her people, and her cause, are all deplorable. This has indeed been the opinion of the South for a very long time. It is my goal, through this blog, to dispel the falsehoods which have empowered this opinion for generations.

It is my sincerest hope that, through this blog, the true causes of this national tragedy may be learned, and thus the stain on the honor of the South, my home, be cleansed.

A final note on terms: I will be using the terms African-American, black, and Negro throughout this blog. When I use the term Negro I am doing so to preserve historical context, as that was considered the proper term for African-Americans of the day.

The Opening Volley

Hello, and welcome.

I am a Civil War enthusiast and amateur historian. I am also a Southerner, born and bred. It is no small task to announce that and NOT be profiled and prejudged. I'm from Alabama. I was born in Walker County in 1961. I have lived virtually my entire life in Alabama. To most folks outside the south that means certain things:

• I am probably ignorant;
• It is doubtful that I have a high school diploma;
• I probably have some inbreeding in my family;
• I am a racist;
• I would restart slavery and the Civil War tomorrow if I knew how.

Not everyone outside the south holds those opinions, but they are commonly held. It gets worse, though.

You see, I am a thinking man. I don't open wide for the spoonful of vanilla truth that passes for history in public schools today. I KNOW the Civil War was not about slavery. Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, was a bigger RACIST than I am. Racism and bigotry are not the exclusive province of the Deep South.

With this blog, I want to put the truth out in the air. If somebody's eyes are opened, good. If not, well, all I can do is put the truth about the history of the Civil War in front of you. You are free to do with the information as you please.

Thanks for coming out.

PS> I'm not ignorant. I graduated high school in 1980. There is no inbreeding in my family. I am a racist, but we all are to some degree. I believe mine is at a minimum. As for slavery and the war: no one in my family ever owned a slave. I find the institution deplorable. As for the war, in a sense that's what this blog is. So, keep your head down and your powder dry.