Lincoln and the Politics of Slavery

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368 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 24 halftones, 1 tables, notes, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-6394-4
Published: February 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-2731-1
Published: April 2016
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-1-4696-2732-8
Published: February 2016
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-5025-6
Published: February 2016

Civil War America

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Awards & distinctions

2017 Bobbie and John Nau Book Prize in American Civil War Era History, John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia

In this landmark book, Daniel Crofts examines a little-known episode in the most celebrated aspect of Abraham Lincoln’s life: his role as the “Great Emancipator.” Lincoln always hated slavery, but he also believed it to be legal where it already existed, and he never imagined fighting a war to end it. In 1861, as part of a last-ditch effort to preserve the Union and prevent war, the new president even offered to accept a constitutional amendment that barred Congress from interfering with slavery in the slave states. Lincoln made this key overture in his first inaugural address.

Crofts unearths the hidden history and political maneuvering behind the stillborn attempt to enact this amendment, the polar opposite of the actual Thirteenth Amendment of 1865 that ended slavery. This compelling book sheds light on an overlooked element of Lincoln’s statecraft and presents a relentlessly honest portrayal of America’s most admired president. Crofts rejects the view advanced by some Lincoln scholars that the wartime momentum toward emancipation originated well before the first shots were fired. Lincoln did indeed become the “Great Emancipator,” but he had no such intention when he first took office. Only amid the crucible of combat did the war to save the Union become a war for freedom.

About the Author

Daniel Crofts is the author of Reluctant Confederates: Upper South Unionists in the Secession Crisis.
For more information about Daniel W. Crofts, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

“With impressive research in politicians’ speeches and correspondence, Crofts reconstructs the tangled legislative history of the amendment during the secession winter of 1860-1861, as moderates North and South struggled to find a compromise that would forestall disunion and war.”--Journal of American History

“An intelligent and absorbing book. . . . Challenges the dominant emancipationist narrative and forces a new look at the dynamics and directions of politics and public interest during the secession crisis.”--Library Journal

“With astute inferential skill and admittedly sparse archival attestations to build from, he pieces together the processes and hints of backroom deals that carried the amendment through both chambers by the narrowest of margins and through deft parliamentary maneuvering and overnight vote reversals.”--Reviews in History

“A worthwhile addition to our literature on the Civil War and the slavery issue in general.”--American Historical Review

“An essential study of Republican ideology and the political efforts to prevent secession in the months following Lincoln’s election.” --Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"A well researched and thought-provoking book about Abraham Lincoln and his position on slavery."--North Carolina Historical Review