Congressional Action and Inaction From the beginning of the Civil War, President Lincoln came under considerable pressure from Radical Republicans to take action to free slaves in areas in rebellion against the Federal government. Mr. Lincoln doubted the… Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

David Hunter and the Department of the South General David Hunter had managed to insinuate himself into a personal relationship with President Lincoln; even accompanying him on the pre-inaugural train ride from Springfield to… Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

John C. Fremont and Missouri Historian William Earnest Smith wrote: “Fremont rose early on the morning of August 30. At dawn he called for Edward Davis of Philadelphia to come to hear him read the draft of his emancipation order ‘that first gave freedom to…’” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Contrabands & Freedmen Lincoln biographer Noah Brooks wrote how escaped slaves were treated in the early weeks of the Civil War in 1861: “The slaves of the South were thought by the people of that region to be…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Military Initiatives Historian John Hope Franklin wrote that as President Lincoln “evolved his plan of emancipation, he was viewed all the more unfavorably because he felt it necessary to restrain enthusiastic officers who…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Transition to Presidency In late October 1860, Mr Lincoln wrote a Tennessee lawyer: “I appreciate your motive when you suggest the propriety of my writing for the public something disclaiming all intention to interfere with…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Civil War For much of the Civil War, Mr. Lincoln juggled conflicting pressures and politicians on the issue of slavery. But the movement toward emancipation of all black Americans was inexorable. After the… Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Galesburg, Knox College, October 7 1858 “On October 7, in the itinerary, came Galesburg, in Knox County. Twenty thousand people and more sat and stood hearing Lincoln and Douglas speak while a raw northwest wind tore flags and banners to rags. The damp air…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Charleston, Coles County, September 18, 1858 “Saturday, September 18, 1858, was the biggest day in the history of Charleston, that quiet little county seat amid the cornfields of eastern Illinois. It was the day that Abraham Lincoln met Senator Stephen Arnold Douglas in the…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >

Jonesboro, Union County, September 15, 1858 Lincoln chronicler George W. Smith wrote: “On the eve of the Jonesboro debate, September 14, 1858, David L. Phillips of Anna met Lincoln at Centralia to escort him to Anna. Phillips, the Republican candidate for Congress in the Ninth District, was Lincoln’s…” Abraham Lincoln and Freedom >