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

South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
President Lincoln revoked the proclama-
ton in special proclamation of his
own on the ground that it was opposed
to the policy formulated in the resolu-
ton above quoted. and he appealed to
the people of the South to embrace the
offer therein contained. July IL, 1862, he
made special address to the Repre-
sentatives and Senators from the bor-
der slave-holding States. urging and
beseeching them to adopt compensated
emancipation In this address he said:
If the war continues long, as it must IL
the object be not sooner attsineu, the .;s, Ia.
stitution Of slavery in your states Will De
extinguished by mere friction ana ABRASION
by the mere Incidents of the war; 1t VIII
in lieu of it, Much of its value is gone
already How much better for you ana
your people to take the step which at once once
shortens the war and secures SUBSTANTIAL
compensation for that which is sure 70 pc
wholly lost in any other event. HOW mucn
better for you.. as seller, ana tne Na .'th
out which the war could never have been
than to sink both the thing to he sold ana
the price of it in cutting one anotnerS
threats.
In this address it was again urged
that colonization should go hand in
hand with compensated emancipation Of
the slaves. But all these efforts were Of
no avail. Mr.. Lincoln's proposition was
respectfully but firmly rejected by Rep
resentatives and Senators in Congress
from the border slave States. On the
22d Of September, 1862. Mr.. Lincoln is
sued a proclamation of warning that
unless the war ceased he would, on the
1st of January following, proclaim free
dom to all slaves within States or parts
of States then in rebellion against the
government. In his annual message or
Dec. /. 1862. he devoted large space to
urging Congress to adopt the compen-
stated emancipation policy, and showed
how, in his opinion, it would shorten the
war and lessen it's expenditure of money
and blood. Nothing came of this, and
on the 1st of January, 1868, came the
famous Emancipation Proclamation. 1t
freed all slaves in the States of Arkan-
sas, Texas, Mississippi Alabama, Flor
ida, Georgia, South Carolina, North
Carolina and the greater part of Vir-
ginia and Louisiana. This still left
slavery legally existing in Missouri,
Kentucky, Tennessee. Maryland. West
Virginia and portions of Louisiana and
Virginia 1t was not finally abolished
in these States until the ratification of
the thirteenth amendment to the Con-
stitution. On the evening Of the day
that amendment passed Congress. Jan.
81, 1865, President Lincoln was sere-
naded. In an extemporaneous speech he
said:
He wished the reunion of ali the States per-
fected and so effected as to remove all
cause of disturbance in the future; and to
attain this end it was necessary that the
original disturbing cause should, II posi-
bic, be rooted out. He thought all would
bear him witness that he had never shrunk
from doing all that he could to eradicate
slavery by issuing emancipation procla-
nation. But that proclamation falls far
short of what the amendment VIII be when
raised whether the proclamation was legally
valid 1t might be argued that 1t only
aided those who came into our lines and
that it was imperative as to those who did
not give themselves up or that 1T would
have no effect upon the children of slaves
that it did not meet the evil. But this
amendment is a kings cure-all for all the
evils. 1t winds the whole thing up. He
could not but congratulate all present, him.
self, the country and the whole world, upon
this great moral victory.
And thus, by slow degrees, moved by
events and moving with the people.
Mr.. Lincoln became an Abolitionist.
The amendment to the Constitution,
which, as he said, wound the whole
thing up" was finally ratified in De-