Reviews of Lincolns Hundred Days the Emancipation Proclamation and the War for the Union
The Slow Fruit Of Liberty In November, 1862, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote an essay, "The President'southward Proclamation" in praise of President Lincoln's Preliminary Emancipation Declaration issued on September 22, 1862. Emerson began his essay: "In so many arid forms which States incrust themselves with, once in a century, if so frequently, a poetic deed and record occur." Emerson connected: "Every step in the history of political freedom is a sally of the human mind into the untried time to come, and has the involvement of genius, and is fruitful in heroic anecdotes. Liberty is a deadening fruit. Information technology comes, similar religion, for curt periods, and in rare conditions, as if awaiting a civilization of the race which shall make information technology organic and permanent." Emerson establish Lincoln's September 22 Declaration an "eminent example" of the dull fruit of liberty, placing it amid human "acts of neat scope, working on a long futurity, and on permanent interests, and honoring alike those who initiate and those who receive them." Louis Masur uses Emerson's statement, "liberty is a slow fruit" as an epigraph of his volume on the Emancipation Declaration, "Lincoln's Hundred Days: The Emancipation Announcement and the War for the Matrimony" (2012) and also discusses Emerson's essay at length. Masur used the title for his own essay on the Emancipation Declaration which developed into this book; and Emerson's observation could well serve equally the theme of the study. Masur, Professor of American Studies and History at Rutgers University, has written extensively on the Civil War as well equally on Bruce Springsteen. The title of Masur'due south book refers to the 100 days between September 22, 1862, when Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation and Jan 1,1863, when he issued the concluding Emancipation Proclamation. In the central affiliate of his study, Masur examines closely the highly varied public response to the Preliminary Annunciation and describes how the response prepare the stage for the terminal version. Although the Emancipation Annunciation has been written about extensively, the "100 days" has not received the degree of focus that Masur offers. He examines critical and supportive views of the Declaration and its legality from the legal and scholarly customs of the twenty-four hours. He discusses the differing responses from the news media, from those in armed forces service, from the broad public and from politicians. Masur discusses the impact of the Declaration on strange relations and on what was feared as Britain's intervention on behalf of the Confederacy. Masur discusses the uncertain bear on of the Proclamation on the mid-term Congressional elections. He discusses the war machine grade of the Ceremonious War during the 100 days. Most importantly, he discusses how Lincoln'southward ain thinking evolved and solidified during this fourth dimension. There were those who thought that Lincoln would fail to follow through on January 1, 1863, Masur examines Lincoln'due south slow, patient, only consistent form of activity during this fourth dimension and his conclusion to see the Proclamation through to its determination. The concluding Proclamation became perhaps the defining act of his presidency. In the ii surrounding capacity of the volume, Masur covers more than familiar ground in showing the wearisome generation of the proclamation from the early days of the Ceremonious War to the touch of the Proclamation after information technology was issued. Masur emphasizes throughout the "irksome fruit" of liberty as the Emancipation Annunciation expanded the aims of the Civil War from the original goal of preserving the Wedlock to the additional and related goal of ending slavery. Masur shows how Lincoln's ideas grew slowly and as a response to the slow change in public perception of the war. He pays potent attention to the pragmatic realism of Lincoln's approach in his effort to go along the loyalty of the border states and to avoid getting too far alee of public opinion. The Proclamation followed the fortunes of the War. Lincoln became convinced that he had the authority to issue the Proclamation equally a matter of armed services necessity in his position as commander in master. Lincoln, in Masur's business relationship, remained strongly committed to Constitutionalism. With the issuance of the final Declaration, African Americans began to serve in the Union Regular army in nifty numbers. Masur devotes substantial attention to the African American contribution to the state of war effort and to the reaction both of free African Americans and of slaves to the Emancipation Proclamation. He examines the impact of the Proclamation on the soldiers in uniform and finds that, on the whole, the opposition that the Proclamation surely would take received in the early days of the war had been muted essentially by time and by events. Masur discusses the way in which Emancipation inverse the means in which the war was fought and how Lincoln implemented the goals of the Proclamation with an ever surer sense of purpose. Lincoln's efforts culminated in the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which bars slavery and involuntary servitude. The book offers a detailed exploration of the historical record using some fiddling examined source fabric. For example,Masur makes extensive uses of the diary of Count Adam Gurowski,, a Polish exile who worked for the State Department. Gurowski recorded his often acerbic and uncomplimentary thoughts on Lincoln and what Gurowski perceived as Lincoln's temporizing. Masur makes skillful use of Gurowski's diary in exploring changing perspectives on the Emancipation Proclamation. Masur also offers his own analysis and assessment of the historical record. For example, in an insightful passage he writes: "Union was a status; freedom an idea. The Emancipation Proclamation remade the war into a new cause. Information technology gave meaning to lives lost, and it gave purpose to a conflict that seemed fatally directionless -- a boxing here, a boxing there, just no vision across restoring the Union, which was no vision at all. This is not to say that Union was not an important ideal -- merely that it was a restorative rather than a transformative idea. Colonel Theodore Gates of the 20th New York State Militia saw into the hereafter: 'President Lincoln'southward emancipation annunciation will accept its identify among the almost important papers of the age & will by & past stand side by side with out Declaration of Independence.'" The book emphasizes the slow, deliberative character of Lincoln's development of the Emancipation Declaration. This "slow fruit" character of the development of liberty was of crucial importance at the time. It may have contemporary importance as well. The book includes detailed endnotes together with four different versions of the Emancipation Announcement, but it lacks a bibliography. Readers interested in understanding American history and in reflecting on the American feel will do good from Masur'southward volume. Robin Friedman
A thorough scholarly study of the Emancipation Declaration and its times. Masur provides a proficient amount of detail on the various calculations Lincoln fabricated earlier releasing the Proclamation. The book covers the time menstruation between Lincoln's issuing of the preliminary and the last emancipation proclamations. Although many nonetheless deny that the Ceremonious War was really about slavery, this was how America largely saw the result in 1861. It was a subject of obsession by the President, Congress, and the media. Masur thoroughly covers the public reaction to the preliminary annunciation and how that reaction set the stage for the final proclamation. He covers the responses from supporters and critics, the media, the army, the public, the politicians, and the international customs. He also describes the course of the war'due south military campaigns during this period, and how Lincoln'southward thinking on the issue evolved. Masur describes the deliberative character of Lincoln himself and how it affected events. Critics from Lincoln'south time on down take ridiculed the Proclamation as one that did not free a single slave, claimed to free slaves in places that the Union did non command, and allowed slavery to exist in the border states and in Spousal relationship-controlled areas of the South. But, as Masur and historians before him have pointed out, this criticism ignores the fact that Lincoln issued the announcement nether his war powers equally commander-in-principal and information technology was politically impossible for him to free slaves in Union-controlled areas without the consent of Congress, and, by implication, the public. Although Lincoln was personally opposed to slavery, he felt a duty to balance these convictions against the danger of losing one-half of the Matrimony's constituency. Nor would it take been wise for him to issue the proclamation at a fourth dimension when Union armies were suffering defeats at the hands of the Confederates; this would make the Emancipation Declaration seem similar an human action of desperation. Masur makes a convincing case that the Proclamation, even if it didn't immediately costless all slaves, did guarantee the eventual stop of slavery. The Announcement was also accompanied by the enlistment of black soldiers in the Union army, and Masur describes their contribution to the Matrimony state of war try. He also shows how the public thinking on the issue evolved; many Matrimony soldiers could not merits to be fighting to destroy slavery at the kickoff of the state of war, but many, like Lincoln and the American public, came around to modifying their opinion on the outcome for a multifariousness of different reasons. A rich and thorough book on the subject.
An fantabulous account of the hundred days between the Preliminary and Last Emancipation Proclamations. Masur ably recounts the political, moral and legal pressures on Lincoln and others in the last quarter of 1862. The Emancipation, issued equally a armed services necessity, recast non just the war, only the future of the country. Too often, modernistic scholars have belittled the Announcement, asserting that it freed not a single slave. Only as Masur recounts, fifty-fifty the noted contemporary critic of Lincoln, the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, came to admit by 1864 that he was mistaken in prematurely criticizing the president for not rashly embracing abolitionist principles.
Having read Squad of Rivals, I wanted to continue my study of Lincoln as a leader. Masur's book provided more depth most a particular issue in Lincoln's leadershp. The history is engaging (just few can live up to Goodwin's ability to report history in a very readable form). There's insights into Lincoln's character, especially as he slowly recognizes that his plans for sending freed slaves to Africa or S America are not viable. The volume tends to present multiple perspectives on each decision Lincoln fabricated. At times this becomes tedious. However, for anyone who wants to know virtually American history, this book is worthy of a read.
This is a wonderful addition to the many Lincoln books written over the years. The development of the Emancipation Declaration by Lincoln's thoughts and mitt, much less the evolution of acceptance by the America people and Marriage army is detailed perfectly in this book by Louis P. Masur. Well done, a must read.
Traces Lincoln'south decision making process from the year before he made the emancipation proclamation to the 100 days before when he announces it volition go into upshot in 100 days to later the actual proclamation. Volume is largely quotes of what others said/did to influence Lincoln and then what it seemed he did in response. What comes across is Lincoln every bit a conscientious, thoughtful man.
Well written history that focuses on the fourth dimension between the Preliminary Proclamation and the actual proclamation issued in Jan of 1863. Just when I think in that location is cypher new to learn about Lincoln, someone comes along and offers new incites.
this is i of the best history books I take read in a while. Fantabulous background and conscientious look at E.P.'due south diction. superb apply of elite and ordinary people's thoughts on the E.P.
Another good piece of scholarship regarding the cease of slavery in America. View my "read" books listing if you want more on this topic.
hard to read even for me and I love footnoted history. I saw the author lecture and his lecture was Fabled and gave wonderful information about personalities around the historical events. I wish this had more than personality. I did learn at that place was far more to the Emancipation Proclamation than I ever knew but I felt like I was wading thru it.
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Source: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/15861647
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