Who Freed the Slaves?

Book excerpt: Who freed America s slaves? The real story of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitutionwhich codified the rhetoric of the Emancipation Proclamationremains surprisingly obscure in the public imagination. Too often, this story has been told as a mere coda to that of the Proclamation, or as a tale of the Great Mr. Lincoln. Neither is historically accurate or complete. In Leonard Richards s hands, the full story makes for the best kind of political narrative, gripping and suspenseful. The prime mover of the amendment was James Ashley, firebrand congressman from Toledo, Ohio. An angry and articulate idealist, Ashley pushed Congress, the president, and the country again and again until the arc of justice bent his way. Both a tale of righteous rage and legislative legerdemain, Outlawing Slavery details Ashley s campaign, replete with horse trading, arm twisting, and (maybe) vote buying. With many Congressmenand, for a long time, Abraham Lincolnresisting Ashley s demand for a constitutional amendment, Ashley had to engage in procedural shenanigans during a lame-duck session in 18641865 to maneuver Congress into finally doing the right thing."