Leon Litwack's arguments on slavery and emancipation

Slaves No More

The issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately end the institution of slavery in America, it took the enforcement of that proclamation by Union troops. The period of time at the end of the Civil War, when freedom from bondage was being imposed by the advancing Union armies, was a tenuous time for the former slaves. Many White Southerners refused to accept the freedom of their former "property," and took actions to re-impose their authority. But after the official surrender of the South, many were forced to begrudgingly accept the freedom of their former slaves. Leon Litwack's article entitled "Slaves No More" examines this period of time and how the presence of Union soldiers was often the determining factor in how free the former slaves were allowed to be.

Most Americans learn that slavery ended in the United States when Abraham Lincoln issued the "Emancipation Proclamation" on January 1, 1863, however, on January 2, 1863 and for some time after, Southern slaves found themselves in a position that was no different than before the proclamation. Leon Litwack's article examines how it was not until Union military forces entered into Southern territory and began to physically free the blacks that they felt themselves truly free. From the time when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to the capture of the Confederate capital of Richmond and the official surrender of the South soon after, the newly won freedom of the former slaves was often very much in doubt. The author provides many examples of the ambiguous situation many former slaves found themselves in. But in other areas of the South, particularly the large cities where Union troops were stationed, he provides a number of examples of how former slaves celebrated their freedom without trouble.

Litwack makes a point to expose the tenuous freedom the former slaves were granted as the Civil War ended. While at first the reaction of the former slaves was timid, the arrival of Union troops soon led to the expectedly joyous and celebratory mood. Former slaves went so far as to chant in unison an old freedom song Slavery chain done broke at last. But the celebration soon ended when the Union troops moved on and the former slaves were left at the mercy of their former masters; who were none too pleased at the recent festivities. Many White Southerners soon took steps to re-impose their authority on what they still considered their "property." In one particular incident, Litwack discusses a former slave-girl who had helped the Yankees, but after they left the master and his wife had the girl hanged. Former slaves may have been free while the Union troops were in the area, but their freedom was completely dependent upon the presence of those troops. It seems that simply declaring someone "free" did not make that person free, only Union troops and their weapons could force the former masters to accept the freedom of their former slaves and protect those former slaves from retribution.

While it is commonly known that former White Confederate officers organized into the KKK in an effort to intimidate the former slaves after the war, it is not well-known that many former slaves found themselves forced back into slavery soon after the Union troops left the area. Southern resistance to Emancipation was greater than previously known, and it brings up the question of whether or not Abraham Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction could have been effective against this type of resistance. After the assassination of Lincoln, Congress imposed a Reconstruction plan on the former Confederate states that was much harsher and more federally controlled than Lincoln had wanted. After reading the article by Litwack and being exposed to the many instances of violence, intimidation, and murder, it makes one wonder if Congressional Reconstruction may have been the only effective means to impose order and protect the rights of the former slaves.