On August 30, 1861, Union General John C. Fremont issued an
order that included the emancipation of all slaves in Missouri
whose owners who did not swear loyalty to the Union. The
military order exceeded the scope of the First Confiscation Act,
enacted by Congress earlier that month, which only mandated the
freeing of slaves who had been used in the Confederate war
effort and whose masters were disloyal to the Union. Although
Missouri was technically in the Union, the Border State was a
bloody battleground at the time between Union and Confederate
forces.
An editorial in the
Harper’s Weekly issue dated September 14, 1861 (published on
September 4) supported Fremont’s policy. With the dramatic
title, “The Beginning of the End,” the commentator (probably
managing editor John Bonner) pointed out that the practical
effect of Fremont’s order would not free many slaves, but it
would send an important message to other slaveholding states.
The editorialist argued that Fremont’s authority was based not
on the (First) Confiscation Act but on “the war power,” and
cited John Quincy Adams—the former president, secretary of
state, and congressman—for a definition of it.
However, President Lincoln feared that
Fremont’s emancipation order would provoke anti-Union sentiment
in Missouri and other Border States (slave states that had not
seceded), where attachment to the Union was uncertain in the
early phase of the war. For those reasons, Lincoln asked
Fremont to modify his order to comply with congressional
legislation. When the general refused, the president rescinded
the emancipation order on September 11, 1861. Lincoln's letter to Fremont appeared in the September 28, 1861 issue
(published September 18). (Several times over the following
months, Lincoln urged the Border States to emancipate their
slaves by state law.) |
1)
September 14, 1861, p. 579, c. 3
“Domestic Intelligence” column, “General
Fremont’s Proclamation”
2)
September 14, 1861, p. 578, c. 2-3
editorial, “The Beginning of the End” 3)
September 28, 1861, p. 611, c. 3
“Domestic Intelligence” column, “The Emancipation Proclamation in Missouri”
|