As I was unaware until today, the First Civil War Confiscation Act, signed by Lincoln in 1861, declared that all Confederate property was owned by the Union Government. As discussed by Michael Lindfield in his work, Freedom Under Fire: U.S. Civil Liberties in Times of War (pg 23 and 30-32),
"Property was confiscated from pro-slavery whites; slaves, rather than being freed, originally became the property of the U.S. government [...] To remedy this bizarre situation, General Hunter, Union military commander of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, issued an order on May 9, 1862 freeing all slaves in areas under his command. Upon hearing of General Hunter's action one week later, President Lincoln immediately revoked the order, thus returning the slaves to their former status as property of the federal government."
Thus, Lincoln - as head of the Union executive branch - played the central role in securing his own share in ownership of confiscated slaves. I would wager to bet that this slice of history was never taught to you in public school?
Thanks to Stephan Kinsella for pointing out these important facts on his lewrockwell.com post.
5 comments:
Oh, for Pete's sake! First of all, the confiscated slaves reverted to the ownership of their previous masters, NOT to the Federal government. Second, even if the Federal government HAD taken over ownership of the slaves, these did not become the personal property of Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln NEVER owned a slave. And while he was not a dyed-in-the-wool abolitionist, he summed up his opinion about slavery as follows: I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel.
Your claims are not correct in regards to the Confiscation Act of 1861. All property became the Government's property, including slaves. This of course, is glossed over by our politically correct history taught in public school. But truth is truth.
I agree that Lincoln never owned slaves as private property. He owned them like the government owns our roads or military equipment. And as Linfield states above, Lincoln was absolutely instrumental in keeping the slaves as government property rather than setting them free.
Finally, here is a quote from Mr. Lincoln. He was certainly not an abolitionist as you note. Further, he was most definitely a racist. In the end, it is undeniable that the war for Southern Independence was NOT fought to free the slaves:
"I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything."
I have only one question, where is that quote from?
Thanks
4th Lincoln-Douglas debate, September 18th, 1858
In one of the supreme ironies of history, Lincoln was forced by circumstances to attend to what he called "the nigger question." And within five years he was enshrined in American mythology as "the great emancipator" who freed Blacks with a stroke of the pen out of the goodness of his heart.
[all bullshit]
Since that time, the mythology of "the great emancipator" has become a part of the mental landscape of America. Generations of schoolchildren have memorized its cadences. Poets, politicians, and long-suffering Blacks have wept over its imagery and drama.
No other American story is so enduring.
No other American story is so comforting.
No other American story is so FALSE.
Abraham Lincoln was not "the great emancipator."
The testimony of sixteen thousand books and monographs to the contrary notwithstanding, Lincoln did not emancipate the slaves, greatly or otherwise. As for the Emancipation Proclamation, it was not a real emancipation proclamation at all, and did not liberate African-American slaves. The White House, said the Proclamation "did not ... whatsoever it may have appeared to accomplish, liberate a single slave."
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