northerners on his side. whatever step lincoln takes, it must be in accordance with the constitution if it s to have any chance of success. congress passes two very important pieces of legislation. one is the militia act of 1862 that gave president lincoln the authority to bring men of african descent into the federal army. another important piece of legislation was on his desk. it is referred to as the second confiscation act. congress declared forever free all persons held as slaves by supporters of the rebellion. he now had the legislation from which to base an emancipation proclamation. do you disapprove? it is the timing that is my main concern. it would be better if we wait until the north wins a decisive military victory. the wisdom of the view of the
mcclellan now has a chance to claim victory. all he has to do is send in his 20,000 reserve troops. we have them by the throat, general. [ gunfire ] we could send in the reserve and finish them. what do we know of lee s reinforcements? george mcclellan always worried a little too much about what the enemy might do. i will not send more men to die unless i have to, general franklin. and that s what happens at antietam. several times, subordinates urge him, now is the time to launch that final blow. but mcclellan s always thinking, what if things go wrong? just as he fails to act after intercepting lee s battle plan mcclellan again hesitates. despite the fact that he overwhelmingly outnumbers lee s force, mcclellan doesn t destroy robert e. lee and the army of northern virginia, and he is widely criticized for this. and particularly abraham lincoln was deeply disappointed.
now, emboldened by a union victory, abraham lincoln has a clear path to emancipate southern slaves and change the course of the war. well, i suppose now is the time. mr. president is anything the matter? i m afraid my arm is almost paralyzed. [ sighs ] when abraham lincoln finally sits down to sign the emancipation proclamation, his hand is trembling so much so that he hesitates multiple times. those watching believe he may not have the strength of will to go through with it. that s not the case. lincoln had spent the day at his new year s reception shaking hundreds of his supporters hands.
elizabeth keckley emerged as the favored seamstress of women of power. when mary todd lincoln came to town, she went to the most popular seamstress in washington. and elizabeth keckley became quite a confidante, and established a contraband relief society. and mary todd lincoln became rather active in this organization. isn t freedom the next logical step for the contrabands? it is. preserving the union was lincoln s paramount priority. certainly that was true at the beginning of the war. and he pushed the issue of slavery down the line about as far as he could go, until his hand was forced. emancipating slaves is not a decision for a general to make. it s a decision for the president. i cannot emancipate the slaves. [ gasps ] elizabeth!
so, after 21 months of fighting to save the union, abraham lincoln turns the civil war into a fight to free the slaves. if my name goes down in history, it will be for this act. that will do. in giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free. we shall nobly save or meanly lose the last, best hope on earth. it is coming! it s on the wire! [ cheers and applause ]