Final freedom : the Civil War, the abolition of slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment

cover image

Where to find it

Davis Library (5th floor)

Call Number
E453 .V67 2001
Status
Available

Stone Center Library

Call Number
E453 .V67 2001 c. 2
Status
Available

Authors, etc.

Names:

Summary

This book examines emancipation after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Focusing on the making and meaning of the Thirteenth Amendment, Final Freedom looks at the struggle among legal thinkers, politicians, and ordinary Americans in the North and the border states to find a way to abolish slavery that would overcome the inadequacies of the Emancipation Proclamation. The book tells the dramatic story of the creation of a constitutional amendment and reveals an unprecedented transformation in American race relations, politics, and constitutional thought. Using a wide array of archival and published sources, Professor Vorenberg argues that the crucial consideration of emancipation occurred after, not before, the Emancipation Proclamation; that the debate over final freedom was shaped by a level of volatility in party politics underestimated by prior historians; and that the abolition of slavery by constitutional amendment represented a novel method of reform that transformed attitudes toward the Constitution.

Contents

  • List of Illustrations p. xi
  • Acknowledgments p. xiii
  • List of Abbreviations p. xvii
  • Introduction p. 1
  • 1 Slavery's Constitution p. 8
  • The Constitution, Slavery, and the Coming of the Civil War p. 9
  • The Secession Crisis: Amending the Constitution to Protect Slavery p. 18
  • Preserving the Constitution in the War for Emancipation p. 23
  • 2 Freedom's Constitution p. 36
  • The Popular Origins of Universal Emancipation p. 36
  • Emancipation and Reconstruction, Republicans and Democrats p. 41
  • Presidential Emancipation: Lincoln's Reconstruction Proclamation p. 46
  • Congress Responds: Proposals for an Abolition Amendment p. 48
  • The Drafting of the Thirteenth Amendment p. 53
  • 3 Facing Freedom p. 61
  • Legal Theory and Practical Politics p. 63
  • The Democracy Divided p. 71
  • African Americans and the Inadequacy of Constitutional Emancipation p. 79
  • 4 Debating Freedom p. 89
  • The Antislavery Amendment and Republican Unity p. 90
  • Slavery, Union, and the Meaning of the War p. 94
  • Constitutional Freedom and Racial Equality p. 99
  • The Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendment p. 107
  • Dubious Victory p. 112
  • 5 The Key Note of Freedom p. 115
  • A New Party, a New Amendment: The Radical Democrats p. 116
  • The "National Union Party" and the Amendment p. 121
  • Race, Reconstruction, and the Constitution: The Changing Context p. 127
  • Party Unity and Presidential Politics p. 136
  • 6 The War within a War: Emancipation and the Election of 1864 p. 141
  • The Parties Dividing p. 142
  • Peace Feelers and Peace Fiascoes p. 146
  • The Retreat from Niagara p. 152
  • Miscegenation and Abolition p. 160
  • State Politics and Abolition p. 167
  • 7 A King's Cure p. 176
  • The New Campaign for Constitutional Emancipation p. 176
  • Lame Ducks, Lobbyists, and Lincoln p. 180
  • Confronting Constitutional Failure p. 185
  • The Final Vote p. 197
  • 8 The Contested Legacy of Constitutional Freedom p. 211
  • The Meanings of Freedom: The Union States and Ratification p. 212
  • Securing the Union: The Confederate States and Ratification p. 222
  • Enacting the Amendment: Congress and Civil Rights p. 233
  • Legacies Denied: The Thirteenth Amendment in the Gilded Age p. 239
  • Legacies Preserved: The Thirteenth Amendment in the Twentieth Century p. 244
  • Appendix Votes on Antislavery Amendment p. 251
  • Bibliography p. 253
  • Index p. 297

Other details