The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-24
A LOOK BACKWARDS.

"A recent communication in the Jour
nal relative to the scope and effect of
President Lincolns celebrated Emanci-
patton Proclamation suggests that a
brief review of the successive steps by
which the abolition of slavery in the
United States was finally contaminated
may be of interest to many whose men,
cries do not run back to the war period
or who have not read carefully the his
tory of the subject.
At the beginning the Republican party
was not an abolition party. 1t was OPP
posed to the extension of slavery, but
not committed to its abolition. Most
Abolitionists were Republicans, but
majority Of Republicans were not Abo-
litionists. The platform on which Mr..
Lincoln was elected declared in favor
of 'the maintenance inviolate of the
rights Of the States, and especially the
right of each State to order and control
it's own domestic institutions according
to it's own Judgment exclusively" Very
few of those who voted for Mr.. Lincoln
in 1860 contemplated war as possible
result of his election, and, of course, had
no idea that the issue might involve the
abolition of slavery. When the seces-
especially when hostilities began, many
Republicans who had not before favored
abolition espoused that doctrine, and
many predicted that it would be an in
evitable result of the war But Mr..
Lincoln moved cautiously on the sub
ject. In fact, he did not move as fast
as many Republicans thought he ought
to, but he moved surely and never got
out of touch with the people Even
Congress, which was fully convinced
that slavery was the cause of the war;
was slow in entering on the work of it's
extinction. even after the war began. 1t
was not abolished in the District of
Columbia until April 16, 1862 and even
then the slaves were paid for. In a
special message approving the measure
Mr.. Lincoln said:
1 have never doubted the constitutional
authority of Congress to abolish slavery in
this district, aid / have ever desired to
see the national capital freed from the In
stitution in some satisfactory way. Hence
there has never been in my mind any cues
ton upon the subject except the one of ex-
pediency, arising in view Of all the circum-
stances. If there be matters within and
about this act which might have taken a
course or shape more satisfactory to my
judgment. 1 do not attempt to specify them
/ am gratiied that the two principles of
compensation and colonization both rec
ognized and practically applied in the act
Less than a month before the date of
this message, on the 9th of March, 1862.
Mr. Lincoln had sent special message
to Congress recommending the adoption
of the following Joint resolution. drawn
by himself:
Resolved. That the United States in order
to cooperate with any State which may
adopt gradual abolition of slavery. give to
such State pecuniary aid. to be used by such
State in its discretion to compensate it for
the inconvenience, public and private, pro-
duced by such change of system
The resolution was adopted by both
branches of Congress. In May. 1862.
General Hunter, in command of the De-
partment of the South. with headquar-
tiers at Hilton Head. S. c., issued a
proclamation emancipating all slaves in