The Emancipation Proclamation An Act of Justice I I By John Hope Franklin hursday, January 1, 1863, was a bright, crisp day in the nation's capital. The previous day had been a strenu­ ous one for President Lincoln, but New Year's Day was to be even more strenuous. So he rose early. There was much to do, not the least of which was to put the finishing touches on the Emancipation Proclamation. At 1010:45:45 the document was brought to the White House by Secretary of State William Seward. The President signed it, but he noticed an error in the superscription. It read, "In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed." The President had never used that form in proclamations, always preferring to say "In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand...... ." He asked Seward to make the correction, and the formal signing would be made on the corrected copy. The traditional New Year's Day reception at the White House be­ gan that morning at eleven o'clock. Members of the cabinet and the diplomatic corps were among the first to arrive.arrive. Officers of the army and navy arrived in a body at half past eleven. The public was ad­ mitted at noon, and then Seward and his son Frederick, the assistant secretary of state, returned with the corrected draft. The rigid laws of etiquette held the President to his duty for three hours, as his secre­ taries Nicholay and Hay observed. "Had necessity required it, he could of course have left such mere social occupation at any mo­ ment," they pointed out, "but the President saw no occasion for precipitancy. On the other hand, he probably deemed it wise that the completion of this momentous executive act should be attended by every circumstance of deliberationdeliberation."." After the guests departed, the President went upstairs to his study for the signing in the presence of a few friends.friends. No cabinet meeting was called, and no attempt was made to have a ceremonyceremony.. Later, Lincoln told F. B. Carpenter, the artist, that as he took up the pen to sign the paper, his hand shook so violently that he could not write. "1 could not for a moment control my arm.arm. I paused, and a superstitious feeling came over me which made me hesitate.... In a moment I remembered that I had been shaking hands for hours with several hundred people, and hence a very simple explanation of the trem­ bling and shaking of my arm." With a hearty laugh at his own thoughts, the President proceeded to sign the Emancipation Procla­Procla- 149 White House reception earlier that day and had greeted him.him. When the Presi­ dent made his regular calcall.1 at the tele­ graph office that eveningevening,, young Rosewa­ ter was on duty and was more excited than ever. He greeted the President and went back to his work.work. Lincoln walked over to see what Rosewater was sending out. It was the Emancipation Proclama­ tion! If Rosewater WilSwas excited, the Presi­ dent seemed the picture of relaxation.relaxation. Af­ ter watching the young operator for a while, the President went over to the A Union soldier reads the Emancipation Proclamation to newly freed slaves. After desk of Tom EckertEckert,, the chief telegraph Lincoln signed the Proclamation, celebrations took place throughout the country. operator in the War Department,Department, sat in mation.mation. Just before he affixed his name to It is worth observing that there was no his favorite chair, where he had written the documentdocument,, he said,said, " I never,never, in my mention, in the finalfin al draftdraft,, of Lincoln's most of the preliminary proclamation the life, felt more certain that I was doing pet schemes of compensation and coloni­ previous summersummer,, and gave his feet the right than I do in signing this paper." zation,zation, which were in the preliminary proper elevation.elevation. For him, it was the end When I made my first serious study of proclamation of September 2222,, 1862. PerPer­­ of a long, busy, but perfect day.day. this document, several copies of the De­ haps Lincoln was about to give up on For many others in various parts of the cember 30 draft were in existence. The such impracticable propositions. In the countrycountry,, the day was just beginning, for copies of cabinet officers Edward BatesBates,, preliminary proclamation, the President the celebrations were not considered of­ Francis Blair, William SewardSeward,, and had said that he would declare slaves in ficial until word was received that the Salmon P. Chase were in the Library of desidesignatedgna ted territories "thenceforward, President had actuallyactually signed the Procla­ Congress. The draft that the President and forever free.free . " In the final draft of Jan­ mationmation.. The slaves of the District of Co­ worked with on December 31 and the uary 11,, 1863,1863, he was content to say that lumbia did not have to wait,wait, however,however, for morning of New YearYear's's Day is considered they "are"are,, and henceforward shall be back in April 1862 the Congress had the final manuscript draft. The principal free."free ." Nothing had been said in the pre­ passed a law setting them freefree. Even so, parts of the text are written in the Presi­ liminary draft about the use of blacks as they joined in the widespread celebra­ dentdent's's hand.hand. The two paragraphs from soldiers. In the summer of 1862 the Con­ tions on New Year'sYear's Day. At Israel Bethel the preliminary proclamation of Septem­ fiscation Act hhadad authorized the Presi­ ChurchChurch,, Reverend Henry McNeal Turner ber 22, 18621862,, were clipped from a printed dent to use blacks in any way he saw fit , went out and secured a copy of the Wash­ copy and pasted onto the President's and there had been some limited use of iningtongton EveningEvening Star that carried the tetextxt of draft,draft, "merely to save writing."writing." The su­ them in noncombat activities.activities. In stating the Proclamation. Back at the church,church, perscription and the final closing are in in the Proclamation that former slaves Turner waved the newspaper from the the hand of a clerk in the Department of were to be received into the armed ser­ pulpit and began to read the document. State.State. Later in the yearyear,, Lincoln pre­ vices,vices, the President believed that he was This was the signal for unrestrained cel­ sented his copy to the ladies in charge of using congressional authority to strike a ebration characterized by men squealing, the Northwestern Fair in Chicago.Chicago. He mighty blow against the Confederacy. women fainting, dogs barking, and told them that he had some desire to re­ It was late afternoon before the Procla­ whites and blacks shaking handshands.. The tain the paper, "but if it shall contribute mation was ready for transmission to the Washington celebrations continued far to the relief and comfort of the soldiers, press and others.others. Earlier drafts had been into the night. In the Navy Yard,Yard, cannons that will be better,"better," he said most gra­ availableavailable,, and some papers, including the began to roar and continued for some ciously. Thomas Bryan purchased it and Washington EveningEvening Star,Star, hadhad used those time.time. presented it to the SoldiersSoldiers'' Home in Chi­ drafts, but it was at about 8 P.M.P . M . on Jan­ In New York the news of the Proclama­ cago,cago, of which he was president. The uary 1 that the transmission of the text tion was received with mixedmixed feelings. home was destroyed in the Great Chicago over the telegraph wires actually began. Blacks looked and felt happyhappy,, one re­ Fire of 1871187l.. Fortunately, four photo­ Young Edward Rosewater, scarcely porter said, while abolitionists "looked graphic copies of the original had been twenty years old, had an excitingexciting New glum and grumbled . ... that the procla­ procla­ mademade.. The official engrossed document is YearYear's's Day.Day. He was a mere telegraph op­ mation was only given on account of mil­mil­ in the National Archives and follows Lin­Lin­ erator in the War Department,Department, but he itary necessitynecessity."." Within a week, how­how­ coln'scoin's original copycopy.. knew the President and had gone to the ever, there were several large celebra- 150 SUMMER 1993 PROLOGUE tions in which abolitionists took partpart.. At than Lincoln the fact that the Emancipa­ Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, the cele­ tion Proclamation had a quite limited ef­ brated Henry Ward Beecher preached a fect in freeing the slaves directly. It commemorative sermon to an overflow should be remembered, however, that in audienceaudience.. "The Proclamation may not the Proclamation he called emancipation free a single slave," he declared, "but it "an act of justice," and in later weeks and gives liberty a moral recognition."recognition." There months he did everything he could to was still another celebration at Cooper confirm his view that it was An AActct of Jus­ Union on January 5. Several speakersspeakers,, in­ tice . And no one was more anxious than cluding the veteran abolitionist Lewis Lincoln to take the necessary additional Tappan, addressed the overflow audi­ steps to bring about actual freedomfreedom.. ence. Music interspersed the several ad­ Thus, he proposed that the Republican dresses.dresses. Two of the renditions were the party include in its 1864 platform a plank "N"Newew John Brown Song," and the calling for the abolition of slavery by con­ "Emancipation Hymn." Ralph Waldo Emerson proclaimed, "To­"To­ stitutional amendment.