Lincoln and the Thirteenth Amendment

Long before the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln recognized the challenge American slavery posed to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. A constitutional amendment would be the ideal solution to ending slavery, yet the idea of such an amendment conflicted with several of Lincolns long-held positions. In this study, Christian G. Samito examines how Lincolns opposition to amending the United States Constitution shaped his political views before he became president, and how constitutional arguments overcame Lincolns objections, turning him into a supporter of the Thirteenth Amendment by 186465. For most of his political career, Samito shows, Lincoln disputed changing the constitution, even to overturn rulings with which he disagreed. Well into his presidency, he argued that emancipation could take place only on the state level because the federal government had no jurisdiction to control slavery in the states. Between January 1863 and mid-1864, however, Lincoln came to support a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery because it worked within the constitutional structure and preserved key components of American constitutionalism in the face of Radical Republican schemes. Samito chronicles lobbying efforts, the final vote in the House on the amendment resolution, and various charges of corruption and back-room deals. He also considers the Hampton Roads conference, Lincolns own thoughts on the meaning of the amendment, and the impact of Lincolns assassination on the reading of the amendment. Closing with a lively discussion that applies the Thirteenth Amendment to current events, this concise yet comprehensive volume demonstrates how the constitutional change Lincoln helped bring about continues to be relevant today.