mcclellan now holds key battle plans that can ensure his army s success and personal redemption. it s a victory that would allow lincoln to redefine the war, giving soldiers like robert gould shaw a reason to fight, and create the new america frederick douglass has hoped for. there is a great deal of excitement for the issuing of the emancipation proclamation. saving the union and emancipation are one. it s this game-changing event. but there was a belief that lincoln might not do it. father. what if lincoln doesn t sign the proclamation? then we keep fighting. haven t come this far i haven t come this far to watch this nation fall back into a slave-owning power. the emancipation proclamation promises to make the war a fight to eradicate slavery. but that s a war frederick douglass has been waging his entire life.
to over 3 million enslaved african-americans, and to lincoln himself. when lincoln takes office, he tries to prevent the looming civil war by reaffirming his belief in the south s constitutional right to own slaves. what about this part? i have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. no, that that s good. remind the south that your position on slavery has remained unchanging. william seward had been a political rival of abraham lincoln s, and yet he selected seward as his secretary of state. seward was certainly more of a passionate abolitionist than lincoln.don t believe lincoln sw himself truly as the president
douglass, for the first time, there doesn t appear to be any prejudice to which he is subjected, and contemplates staying in england because he s not subject to what he sees as the hypocrisy of the north. oh, pleure. thank thank you.e in, please. oh, thank you. we have to remember that, in britain, slavery has been outlawed since the 13th century. so he has a vision of a kind of freedom that he might enjoy. so he decides to return and fight for something like that in america. the emancipation proclamation could help bring about the freedom frederick douglass has worked for. but it all depends on a president who has done everything he can to avoid making the civil war about slavery. mr. president, is anything the matter? i just need a moment.
george s father was a white man. not by my choice. but it did enable him to pass as white, and he enlisted in the army. i hear he fought bravely. sir, the black man is willing to fight. and any man fighting for his freedom can bear the strength of 10 men. you just have to let him. lincoln is caught between his desire to end slavery and his need to keep anti-abolition 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
and to tell his story. i spent my first night on the it was cold, but nothing compared to my days in ol master s house. be silent! now, gentmen, if you take issue with today s lecture. the idea that the north was on the side of virtue and the south was where all the racists were located, that s wrong. aah! though frederick douglass escapes to the north in the search of freedom, he s still a fugitive from the law. any white northerners at the time, particularly members of the democratic party, do not believe in black equality. they too fear the consequences of emancipating the slaves. [ yells ] douglass realizes this. he knows that as long as slavery