Granted From Above or Below?

As the Civil War was coming to an end, slavery in America would also be.  Now, when the South officially surrendered the last of its troops, it didn't mean that slavery was automatically abolished.  For slavery to be abolished, it would have to pass through the Senate and the House of Representatives and eventually to President Lincoln.  The conclusion of the war marked the South's decision to allow slavery to be up abolition if passed through the United States' Government.  On April 8th, 1864, the a Senate passed the abolition bill and it was them passed by the House on January 31st, 1865.  It was then passed by Lincoln the next day and put into the Constitution symbolizing the official abolition of slavery in the United States.  This was the official grant of freedom from Lincoln, the man at the very top.  However, other sources can tell us otherwise.  Many documents that we read over and analyzed in our class have different opinions on whether or not the freedom the slaves gained came from above or below.  As a class, we analyzed an image called Freedom to the Slaves.  The man kneeling down is most likely thankful because he is being freed.  The children are either too young to understand or are thankful as well.  Now, I believe that many slaves felt that freedom should have been granted years before this image depicts.  The mother is probably thinking it is nearly too late for us to live a life every person wants, but at least my children will be free and grow up like everyone else.  The image is an example of freedom from above.  Then, our groups analyzed the documents of Lincoln.  Now, in his open letter, he says that the goal of the war in his mind was to keep the United States the way it was and he would do it any way he could as he says “If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all slaves, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.  Abolishing slavery was behind saving the Union on the importance ranking.  Lincoln’s main goal was to save the Union as he said in his letter.  He also said how what he does about slavery is done to help the Union so his personal beliefs are centered around the Union.  After watching the Ken Burns video, we determined that fugitive slaves were a lot to deal with as Union troops moving into the South could not support them.  Slaves followed the troops and the Unionist military did not have food and other necessities they needed.  They also could not provide them weapons to fight and would have a shortage if they met Confederates with the fugitive slaves.  Now, with the North invading the South, Lincoln did not make it public that he intended to abolish slavery as a result of the war because he would lose Delaware, Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland who were loyal to the Union but were slave states.  They would not fight for the Union if they knew the main cause of the war was to end slavery.   

 

 

 

Freedom from above means someone with higher authority or power grants freedom to those enslaved below them.  In Lincoln’s open letter, he states “What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do it because I believe it helps save the Union….I intend no modification of my often expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.”  He is focused on saving the Union but he knows the slaves must be freed which shows freedom from above.  The, we read his Emancipation Proclamation.  It also shows freedom from above because, well, he basically said all current and future slaves (offspring of female slaves) would be forever free.  In the Gettysburg Address of 1863, he stated “Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedication to all men being equal.  Lincoln cared very much about the slaves and he wanted them to be free.  He believed many had fought for slaves to be free and were very nobly advanced.  Now, many sources can argue that freedom came from below which is when the slaves themselves work together and stand up for themselves to make change.  Documents X and Y say a slightly different story.  Document X is a letter from General Ambrose E. Burnside to Edwin M. Stanton in March of 1862.  “They are now a source of anxiety to us, the city is being overrun with fugitives from surrounding towns and cities.  This shows freedom from below because all of the slaves made themselves a hassle to deal with and they gained freedom that way because the troops could not put up with it.  Document Y is a photo showing slaves making a difference and standing up for rights they deserve on a Southern plantation in Missouri.

 

While official freedom came from above, the real reason why Lincoln got more focused on slavery as the war started to come to an end is because of the slaves working as a whole and fighting for what they believed in.  Therefore, freedom was fought for which was recognized by as well as freedom being granted from above.