It was this book in particular that helped me to realize that scope of my research must be wider. The attitudes of his Congress, and the public feeling on this issue must be examined also. Also we cannot truly look at this topic without looking at the Proclamations themselves. Thus I have included in this presentation both the first proclamation given on September 22 1862, and the second that went into effect on the first day of 1863, see attachments.
I think it is important to begin with a look at how emancipation was arrived at, as it was not a simple process, due to the efforts of one man. There has been a great deal of study contributed to this topic resulting in a great number of different views. There is the revisionist view of emancipation policy that is best illustrated by the work of Richard Hofstadter. His view was that, "Lincoln adopted emancipation only after all other policies failed, that he resorted to it in an unhappy frame of mind, and that the Emancipation Proclamation "had all the moral grandeur of a bill of lading."" There are others who believe that this is not quite accurate. Certainly we can find views to contrast this extreme view. "The Proclamation surprised the cabinet. Even Chase, the most radical on emancipation, was impressed at how far Lincoln had reached." Also there are those who believe that certainly Lincoln took this step with its military applications in mind, but also was making an attempt to put an end to an evil institution that had thrived in America for too long. One such example is Mark Krug, author of The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It. His primary arguments were "based on Lincoln's expression of hatred for slavery and on the judgment of contemporaries that moral conviction sustained the emancipation edict." This argument is a powerful one, as it is clear that Lincoln was opposed to the institution of slavery. It I believe is clear that there is no absolute view of how Lincoln approached emancipation.
