Synopses & Reviews
In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln declared that as president he would “have no lawful right” to interfere with the institution of slavery. Yet less than two years later, he issued a proclamation intended to free all slaves throughout the Confederate states. When critics challenged the constitutional soundness of the act, Lincoln pointed to the international laws and usages of war as the legal basis for his Proclamation, asserting that the Constitution invested the president “with the law of war in time of war.”
As the Civil War intensified, the Lincoln administration slowly and reluctantly accorded full belligerent rights to the Confederacy under the law of war. This included designating a prisoner of war status for captives, honoring flags of truce, and negotiating formal agreements for the exchange of prisonerspractices that laid the intellectual foundations for emancipation. Once the United States allowed Confederates all the privileges of belligerents under international law, it followed that they should also suffer the disadvantages, including trial by military courts, seizure of property, and eventually the emancipation of slaves.
Even after the Lincoln administration decided to apply the law of war, it was unclear whether state and federal courts would agree. After careful analysis, author Burrus M. Carnahan concludes that if the courts had decided that the proclamation was not justified, the result would have been the personal legal liability of thousands of Union officers to aggrieved slave owners. This argument offers further support to the notion that Lincolns delay in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation was an exercise of political prudence, not a personal reluctance to free the slaves.
In Act of Justice, Carnahan contends that Lincoln was no reluctant emancipator; he wrote a truly radical document that treated Confederate slaves as an oppressed people rather than merely as enemy property. In this respect, Lincolns proclamation anticipated the psychological warfare tactics of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Carnahans exploration of the presidents war powers illuminates the origins of early debates about war powers and the Constitution and their link to international law.
Review
"Act of Justice is a valuable resource for scholars wanting to understand better the historical precedent for military emancipation and its legality under the laws of war."
Review
"Carnahans patient re-creation of the legal context of the proclamation, and Lincolns legal craft in composing it, deal a powerful blow to the hit-and-run dismissals of Lincoln as a racist and a half-heart who was forced into glory. The more we learn, through Carnahan, of the nineteenth centurys laws of war and Lincolns radical prudence in interpreting them, the greater Lincoln stands as a presidential commander-in-chief and an Emancipator.""An important contribution to the literature surrounding this influential document."
Review
While this is an academic book, those interested in information on the famous Emancipation Proclamation will enjoy learning how it came about meticulously.
Review
"A worthy addition to academic and large public libraries, especially given current attention to presidential use of war powers."-- Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal
Review
Act of Justice is an important contribution to the literature surrounding this influential document [Emancipation Proclamation].
Review
"Carnahans patient re-creation of the legal context of the proclamation, and Lincolns legal craft in composing it, deal a powerful blow to the hit-and-run dismissals of Lincoln as a racist and a half-heart who was forced into glory. The more we learn, through Carnahan, of the nineteenth centurys laws of war and Lincolns radical prudence in interpreting them, the greater Lincoln stands as a presidential commander-in-chief and an Emancipator." "An important contribution to the literature surrounding this influential document."(Allen C. Guelzo, Gettysburg College)
Review
[Carnahan's] worthy study reminds us of current controversies involving human rights and the usage of presidential power. In that sense his historical foray into international law is quite timely and thought-provoking.
Review
This book is highly recommended to those interested in the Civil War, slavery, the Emancipation Proclamation and in Abraham Lincoln.
Review
Carnahan shows us how a president can act audaciously and lawfully, at the same time. His book offers potential lessons for our own time.
Review
With excellent use of notes and appendices, Carnahan's study is clear, concise, and compelling. He adds immeasurably to Civil War historiography and Emancipation Proclamation scholarship.
Synopsis
In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln declared that as president he would "have no lawful right" to interfere with the institution of slavery. Yet less than two years later, he issued a proclamation intended to free all slaves throughout the Confederate states. When critics challenged the constitutional soundness of the act, Lincoln pointed to the international laws and usages of war as the legal basis for his Proclamation, asserting that the Constitution invested the president "with the law of war in time of war." As the Civil War intensified, the Lincoln administration slowly and reluctantly accorded full belligerent rights to the Confederacy under the law of war. This included designating a prisoner of war status for captives, honoring flags of truce, and negotiating formal agreements for the exchange of prisoners -- practices that laid the intellectual foundations for emancipation. Once the United States allowed Confederates all the privileges of belligerents under international law, it followed that they should also suffer the disadvantages, including trial by military courts, seizure of property, and eventually the emancipation of slaves. Even after the Lincoln administration decided to apply the law of war, it was unclear whether state and federal courts would agree. After careful analysis, author Burrus M. Carnahan concludes that if the courts had decided that the proclamation was not justified, the result would have been the personal legal liability of thousands of Union officers to aggrieved slave owners. This argument offers further support to the notion that Lincoln's delay in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation was an exercise of political prudence, not a personal reluctance to free the slaves. In Act of Justice, Carnahan contends that Lincoln was no reluctant emancipator; he wrote a truly radical document that treated Confederate slaves as an oppressed people rather than merely as enemy property. In this respect, Lincoln's proclamation anticipated the psychological warfare tactics of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Carnahan's exploration of the president's war powers illuminates the origins of early debates about war powers and the Constitution and their link to international law.
Synopsis
In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln declared that as president he would “have no lawful right” to interfere with the institution of slavery. Yet less than two years later, he issued a proclamation intended to free all slaves throughout the Confederate states. When critics challenged the constitutional soundness of the act, Lincoln asserted that he was endowed “with the law of war in time of war.”
In Act of Justice, Burrus M. Carnahan contends Lincoln was no reluctant emancipator; he wrote a truly radical document that treated Confederate slaves as an oppressed people rather than merely as enemy property. In this respect, Lincolns proclamation anticipated the intellectual warfare tactics of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.