Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Kearns Goodwin writes: “Despite repeated warnings that the issuance of the proclamation would have harmful consequences for the Union’s cause, Lincoln never considered retracting his pledge” (497). On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which states that all slaves held in states still in rebellion against the Union are now free. Lincoln also allows for black recruitment into the armed forces (497), something the radical abolitionist Frederick Douglass had been campaigning for. A group of Democrats, “popularly known as Copperheads” (503), believe these measures “strayed too far from simply repressing the rebellion and restoring the Union as it had been” (503), and they renew their desire to unseat Lincoln in the 1864 election.

While Lincoln is busy celebrating his political victory and consolidating his position among the Republicans and War Democrats, the Union Army, under General John Hooker, suffers yet another defeat. This time the Union general is outsmarted by Lee at Chancellorsville; however, the South does not escape unharmed, as they lose one of their most prominent leaders, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The loss is a huge blow to Southern morale.