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Act of Justice : Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of War

By: Carnahan, Burrus MMaterial type: TextTextSeries: eBooks on DemandPublisher: Lexington : The University Press of Kentucky, 2007Description: 1 online resource (213 p.)ISBN: 9780813172736Subject(s): African Americans - Legal status, laws, etc - History - 19th century | African Americans -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- History -- 19th century | Constitutional history - United States | Constitutional history -- United States | Executive power - United States - History - 19th century | Executive power -- United States -- History -- 19th century | Lincoln, Abraham - Political and social views | Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Political and social views | Military law - United States - History - 19th century | Military law -- United States -- History -- 19th century | Slaves - Emancipation - United States | Slaves -- Emancipation -- United States | United States | United States. President (1861-1865 : Lincoln). Emancipation ProclamationGenre/Form: Electronic books.Additional physical formats: Print version:: Act of Justice : Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of WarDDC classification: 973.7 | 973.7/14 | 973.714 LOC classification: E453 .C375 2007Online resources: Click here to view this ebook.
Contents:
Front cover; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Planting the Seed: Charles Sumner and John Quincy Adams; 2. The Supreme Court on Private Property and War; 3. Criminal Conspiracy or War?; 4. The Union Applies the Law of War; 5. The Law as a Weapon; 6. Congress Acts and the Confederacy Responds; 7. Military Necessity and Lincoln's Concept of the War; 8. The Proclamation as a Weapon of War; 9. The Conkling Letter; 10. A Radical Recognition of Freedom; Appendix A; Appendix B; Appendix C; Appendix D; Appendix E; Appendix F; Notes; Index
Summary: In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln declared that as president he would ""have no lawful right"" to interfere with the institution of slavery. Yet less than two years later, he issued a proclamation intended to free all slaves throughout the Confederate states. When critics challenged the constitutional soundness of the act, Lincoln asserted that he was endowed ""with the law of war in time of war."" In Act of Justice, Burrus M. Carnahan contends Lincoln was no reluctant emancipator; he wrote a truly radical document that treated Confederate slaves as an oppressed people rather
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Electronic Book UT Tyler Online
Online 		E453 .C375 2007 (Browse shelf) http://uttyler.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=788407 Available EBL788407

Front cover; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Planting the Seed: Charles Sumner and John Quincy Adams; 2. The Supreme Court on Private Property and War; 3. Criminal Conspiracy or War?; 4. The Union Applies the Law of War; 5. The Law as a Weapon; 6. Congress Acts and the Confederacy Responds; 7. Military Necessity and Lincoln's Concept of the War; 8. The Proclamation as a Weapon of War; 9. The Conkling Letter; 10. A Radical Recognition of Freedom; Appendix A; Appendix B; Appendix C; Appendix D; Appendix E; Appendix F; Notes; Index

In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln declared that as president he would ""have no lawful right"" to interfere with the institution of slavery. Yet less than two years later, he issued a proclamation intended to free all slaves throughout the Confederate states. When critics challenged the constitutional soundness of the act, Lincoln asserted that he was endowed ""with the law of war in time of war."" In Act of Justice, Burrus M. Carnahan contends Lincoln was no reluctant emancipator; he wrote a truly radical document that treated Confederate slaves as an oppressed people rather

Description based upon print version of record.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Carnahan (lecturer, law, George Washington Univ.) reminds serious readers what was entailed in Lincoln's recourse to the law of war in order to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. He explains the context and limits of Lincoln's implementation and why it was upheld by the courts. Appendixes offer the relevant documents. A worthy addition to academic and large public libraries, especially given current attention to presidential use of war powers. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Abraham Lincoln is the paragon of complexity. He made very public policy decisions, but he kept his reasoning for them virtually hidden. In exploring Lincoln's private motivations, editors Holzer and Gabbard in their essay collection and author Carnahan in his monograph reflect the duality of Lincoln's approach to the issue of slavery, emancipation, and freedom. The Holzer/Gabbard book, by virtue of its contributed essays format, takes a broad approach to Lincoln's position relative to the redefinition of freedom in the US. Some essays, like James Horton's discussion of slavery in the early 19th century, are traditional historical investigations. Others, such as Ronald White's discussion of Lincoln's use of rhetoric, delve into the more esoteric use of language as symbol of intent. Well-known historians author all of the essays, and the result is a comprehensive, multifaceted discussion of the diverse debate on the Civil War's meaning of freedom. Carnahan (law, George Washington Univ.) takes a much different approach, concentrating his discussion on Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation instead of a broader theme. More precisely, Carnahan dissects the proclamation as a legal proceeding, exploring Lincoln's perceptions of what the law did and did not permit him to do as commander in chief in time of war. Carnahan reinforces the idea that Lincoln was bound by the Constitution and the legal demands of due process, and the emancipation of the slaves depended as much upon what the law permitted Lincoln to do as what he wished to do. The result is a clear legal analysis of a president dealing with a shifting political and military landscape, achieving what he could within the bounds of his situation. Together, these books provide a comprehensive view of both the emotional and legal facets of a private president and a public triumph. Summing Up: Recommended (both books). Upper-division undergraduates and above. S. J. Ramold Eastern Michigan University

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