the “great central act” of mr. lincoln’s administration, as he himself calls it, was the emancipation of the slaves. at the stroke of a pen the shackles fell from four millions of persons in a state of servitude. on the 1st of january, 1863, emancipation was proclaimed, and the promise was made that “the executive government of the united states, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.”
this important proclamation carried joy, not only to the persons most interested, but to the friends of freedom everywhere.
mr. lincoln had been importuned to take this step before. earnest anti-slavery men like charles sumner and horace greeley felt that he delayed{265} too long; but the president was wiser than they. he had always been an anti-slavery man, but his own wishes did not give him the right to abolish slavery. i can not do better than to give mr. lincoln’s reasons for the course he pursued, in his own words, spoken to george thompson, an eminent english anti-slavery man, in april, 1864:
“mr. thompson,” said the president, “the people of great britain and of other foreign governments were in one great error in reference to this conflict. they seemed to think that, the moment i was president, i had the power to abolish slavery, forgetting that, before i could have any power whatever, i had to take the oath to support the constitution of the united states, and execute the laws as i found them. when the rebellion broke out, my duty did not admit of a question. i did not consider that i had a right to touch the ‘state’ institution of slavery until all other measures for restoring the union had failed. the paramount idea of the constitution is the preservation of the union. it may not be specified in so many words, but that this was the idea of its founders is evident; for, without{266} the union, the constitution would be worthless. it seems clear, then, that in the last extremity, if any local institution threatened the existence of the union, the executive could not hesitate as to his duty. in our case, the moment came when i felt that slavery must die—that the nation must live! i have sometimes used the illustration in this connection of a man with a diseased limb and his surgeon. so long as there is a chance of the patient’s restoration, the surgeon is solemnly bound to try to save both life and limb; but when the crisis comes, and the limb must be sacrificed as the only chance of saving the life, no honest man will hesitate.
“many of my strongest supporters urged emancipation before i thought it indispensable, and, i may say, before i thought the country ready for it. it is my conviction that, had the proclamation been issued even six months earlier than it was, public sentiment would not have sustained it. just so as to the subsequent action in reference to enlisting blacks in the border states. the step, taken sooner, could not, in my judgment, have been carried out. a man watches his pear-tree day after day, impatient for the ripening{267} of the fruit. let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. but let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls into his lap! we have seen this great revolution in public sentiment slowly, but surely, progressing, so that, when final action came, the opposition was not strong enough to defeat the purpose. i can now solemnly assert that i have a clear conscience in regard to my action on this momentous question. i have done what no man could have helped doing, standing in my place.”
i find an interesting account in mr. carpenter’s volume, of the circumstances attending mr. lincoln’s signing the emancipation proclamation, quoted, i believe, from col. forney. it runs thus:
“the roll containing the emancipation proclamation was taken to mr. lincoln at noon on the 1st day of january, 1863, by secretary seward and his son frederick.
“as it lay unrolled before him, mr. lincoln took a pen, dipped it in ink, moved his hand to the place for the signature, held it a moment, and then removed his hand and dropped the pen. after a little hesitation he again took up the pen{268} and went through the same movement as before. mr. lincoln then turned to mr. seward, and said:
“ ‘i have been shaking hands since nine o’clock this morning, and my right arm is almost paralyzed. if my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. if my hand trembles when i sign this proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say, “he hesitated.” ’
“he then turned to the table, took up the pen again, and slowly, firmly wrote that ‘abraham lincoln,’ with which the world is now familiar. he looked up, smiled, and said: ‘that will do.’ ”
that act linked the name of abraham lincoln with one of the greatest acts in all history. that act gave him an earthly immortality!
