The Emancipation Proclamation (Books of American Wisdom)

Note: Amazon has grouped together reviews of several different editions of this book; this review is for  The Emancipation Proclamation (Little Books of Wisdom) .Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation is justly famed the world over, and every American or would-be American owes it to himself or herself to reread it occasionally, and this Applewood Books version is a good choice for reasons besides being sturdy, nice looking, and inexpensive.A brief Foreward lays out the timeline of the drafting of the Emancipation Proclamation, including the well known quotation from Lincoln's reply to a Horace Greely editorial accusing him of being remiss with regard to emancipation, in which Lincoln makes clear that regardless of his personal feelings about slavery (he loathed it), his paramount object was saving the Union NOT saving or destroying slavery. What follows is the text of the three different versions of the proclamation: first draft, preliminary version, and the final, issued proclamation, along with Lincoln's introductory remarks to his cabinet regarding the second version, and last, the Thirteenth Amendment.Note: Applewood Books has produced a nice looking inexpensive series of sturdy pocket-sized reprints of important American books, documents, speeches, pamphlets, and poems, the Little Books of Wisdom, uniform with this volume, that are ideal for gifting to doctors, lawyers, teachers, business professionals, and students of same:  The Way to Wealth , George Washington's Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation , The Constitution of the United States of America , On the Art of Teaching , The Poems of Abraham Lincoln , The Strenuous Life , The Bill of Rights with Writings That Formed Its Foundation , The Path of the Law , The Constitution of the Confederate States of America , The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, A Message to Garcia, A Declaration of Sentiments, Robert's Rules of Order, Good Citizenship, On Being Human, A Discourse Upon the Duties of a Physician, The Declaration of Independence with Short Biographies of Its Signers, The Wants of Man, George Washington's Farewell Address, The Speech of Chief Seattle, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Common Sense, The Articles of Confederation, and The Gospel of Wealth.Some selected volumes are also available in boxed sets: Books of American Wisdom Boxed Set, CEO's Gift Box of Wisdom, Doctor's Gift Box of Wisdom, Lawyer's Gift Box of Wisdom, New Citizen's Gift Box of Wisdom, and Teacher's Gift Box of Wisdom.And some have been published in Spanish: Un Mensaje a Garcia and Constitucion de Los Estados Unidos.

I must have read this in elementary school, it was good to revisit and refresh the words of Lincoln and see how in America those who were captive were made free. God bless America.

The Emancipation Proclamation, given to readers free by Amazon, is worth reading to understand an important event during the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln felt during the war that he could not free the slaves in the northern states, but only free those in the rebellious south (over which he had no control during the war). The proclamation was issued on September 22, 1862 and would become effective against states and parts of states still in rebellion on January 1, 1863. The president wrote that the proclamation was a “necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion.” He, in essence gave the states and parts of states who were in rebellion three months, 100 days, to end the rebellion, otherwise they would lose their slaves.

First, I am very grateful to be able to obtain this document free of charge on Kindle. Thank You. This document has received mixed reviews historically. This document does not end slavery. It free slaves in areas that remain in rebellion. Some critics feel it is an act of cynicism. Although the proclamation frees slaves in areas of rebellion, the United States cannot immediately do anything for such slaves. In areas not in rebellion the slaves are not emancipated.Slavery was actually ended officially by the Thirteenth Amendment. It is sobering to me to contemplate slavery as an evil, yet ending evil was an incremental process. Even the Thirteenth Amendment required more than one vote in the House of Representatives. Sigh…

On September 22, 1862, President Lincoln issued the preliminary version of The Emancipation Proclamation. I urge all Americans to read this document and understand its importance in American history. Many believe this document was an action to end slavery and grant black Americans the same freedom and rights enjoyed by white Americans. Nothing is further from the truth. Lincoln was first and formost driven to perserve the Union by putting down the rebellion that threatened the United States. By issuing such a document,, he knew that he had struck a blow against the South’s strength by providing an incentive for slaves to escape creating a distraction and weakening the economic stability of the Confederacy. Without slaves for labor and with its men fighting, the Southern economy would be weakened. Further, this action united the Republican Party to push for the complete abolishment of slavery and to stave off any military interference on the part of England or France. Lincoln believed that by issueing the Emancipation Proclamation, the will of the people of the Union and the Constitution was thrust upon the Confederates. There is little doubt that Lincoln hated slavery and desired abolition but, in 1862-1863 few white Americans would have even entertained the notion of equal rights under the law for black Americans. They would wait more than 100 years to attain the basic rights granted by the US Constiitution.

Excellent to see it in print for Kindle.

Of course, this Emancipation Proclamation is awesome and deserves a five-Star rating. At the senior age of 69 years, I wish I had read this years ago. I read Uncle Tom's Cabin years ago and could not believe the harsh realities of slavery that unfolded and were revealed. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote from the heart and I wept. Today we are facing another slavery with sex trafficking and it is affecting every race. May God help us see it stamped out before long as well. My family has been targeted as well as so many others.

Personally, I feel that it sounds more like the proclamation of Lincoln's author'ity, not freedom of the slaves.Nonetheless, it's a good study of the 19th-century U.S. Federal Government proclamation whose lines sound quite interesting.

Can't beat the 0.00 price. Good read for Lincoln enthusiasts. It's brilliant to read this in Kindle format. An excellent companion to  Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln . Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln