Lincoln's Hundred Days: The Emancipation Proclamation and the War for the Union

About this book

"The time has come now " Abraham Lincoln told his cabinet as he presented the preliminary draft of a "Proclamation of Emancipation." Lincolns effort to end slavery has been controversial from its inception-when it was denounced by some as an unconstitutional usurpation and by others as an inadequate half-measure-up to the present as historians have discounted its import and impact. At the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation Louis Masur seeks to restore the documents reputation by exploring its evolution. Lincolns Hundred Days is the first book to tell the full story of the critical period between September 22 1862 when Lincoln issued his preliminary Proclamation and January 1 1863 when he signed the final significantly altered decree. In those tumultuous hundred days as battlefield deaths mounted debate raged. Masur commands vast primary sources to portray the daily struggles and enormous consequences of the presidents efforts as Lincoln led a nation through war and toward emancipation. With his deadline looming Lincoln hesitated and calculated frustrating friends and foes alike as he reckoned with the anxieties and expectations of millions. We hear these concerns from poets cabinet members and foreign officials from enlisted men on the front and free blacks as well as slaves. Masur presents a fresh portrait of Lincoln as a complex figure who worried about listened to debated prayed for and even joked with his country and then followed his conviction in directing America toward a terrifying and thrilling unknown.