Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation in Art | BRIdge From the Past
Why is the Emancipation Proclamation such a significant document in U.S. history, and how can an image manifest this? In this episode of BRIdge From the Past, Mary explores a lithograph of Abraham Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation. Printed in 1863, the lithograph depicts the commander-in-cheif’s challenging task of wording the Emancipation Proclamation with what he called “an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity.” What symbolic details in this lithograph showcase Lincoln’s struggles drafting the Emancipation Proclamation? What does the image tell us about how he strategically and constitutionally justified his action?
0:00 Hi Everybody. Welcome to another episode of Bridge from the Past. I’m your host, Mary, and this series is all about using art as a starting point to think about important topics in American history and civics. Today we’re looking at a lithograph or print of Abraham Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation. Why is this document so important in US history?
0:21 Let’s jump in and see. Once again, we’re thinking about what this image, our starting image, can tell us about the Emancipation Proclamation and its importance in US history. Whenever you have an image as a primary source, it’s important just to make some observations before you can really go any further with your analysis.
0:43 If you’re using the handout that accompanies this video, go ahead and pause here and make some observations of your own. Here are some things that I immediately notice. First of all, it’s a mess in Abraham Lincoln’s room. It almost looks like he’s a hoarder. There’s papers everywhere. His hair looks a little disheveled, and it looks like he has one slipper off.
1:07 And his jacket sort of strewn about over here. There’s light streaming in. It’s almost like he pulled an all nighter. That’s what it makes me think of in the morning light is sort of shining through his window. I can see like a statue falling down. I noticed there’s a sword over here. It looks like a map. So there’s a lot of pieces.
1:28 It’s a very busy picture, and I need a little more context before I can go any further. So one important thing to note is our title and our date. So we have Lincoln writing the Proclamation of Freedom or the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. So this was actually a painting by the artist
1:50 David Gilmour Blythe, and then it was turned into a lithograph or print and mass produced by a printing company, also in 1863. So as a print, it’s something that would be seen by a lot of people. And the key thing here that I underlined is 1863. So we are in the middle of the American Civil War, and you have the sword here,
2:12 and down here, I have a map of the rebel states all alluding to the idea that we’re in the midst of a very bloody, bloody fight. The title references a proclamation of freedom. But the Civil War wasn’t initially about slavery. Abraham Lincoln was elected on a ticket to preserve the Union.
2:33 And this is a key piece right here. So I’m going to go ahead and zoom in a little bit on our picture. All right, so this is January 1, 1863. Lincoln is in the middle of writing this proclamation. So it says a proclamation here. It’s still a little fuzzy, but here’s that map of the rebel states that I mentioned just a minute before.
2:55 But I can see like strewn about here. There are a lot of references to people and groups that were fighting or wanted to end slavery for a very long time. And you can start over here. There’s a memorial from the Quakers. So the Quakers were a religious group who had constantly petitioned against
3:15 slavery even before the founding of the United States. I can see history books. I can see over here a cross. I can see chains. I can see courts. That’s a map of the world, something with Daniel Webster. So another great statesman. So there’s all these allusions to people and groups that had tried to end slavery
3:40 before Lincoln’s time, before the time of the Civil War. In Lincoln’s lap he is holding a holy Bible. Underneath the Bible is the Constitution of the United States. So, again, it’s still a little fuzzy, but you’ve got to trust me here in the Library of Congress that that is the Constitution in his lap.
4:00 Lincoln personally abhorred slavery, but he wanted to end slavery through constitutional means. And something that this picture does, which is a little misleading, is it makes you think. He sort of did this overnight. He was up late thinking, how am I going to do this? How am I going to do this? And the Emancipation Proclamation happened, but that’s not actually the case.
4:22 What you have here is a draft, a preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, and this is in July 1862. So this is six months before it was actually published. And you can see here there are some scribbles. So this is something that Lincoln had really been mulling over and talking with his Cabinet for a very long time.
4:44 I’m going to go back into our image. Lincoln will use his powers as Commander in Chief. So a military action to end slavery in the States in rebellion. So there are limitations to this Proclamation. It doesn’t say anything about the border states, but it is a signal that the goal of the war is not just to preserve
5:05 the Union, but to have a Union without slavery. And in the closing of the Emancipation Proclamation is this line, which I think is so perfect. It says, quote, and upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, i, Lincoln,
5:26 invoke the considerate judgment of mankind in the gracious favor of Almighty God. Again, this is something that he personally finds as the President, as Commander in Chief. And you have this idea he’s invoking this principle of justice, and you have the scales above his head. So scales being the symbol of justice,
5:46 justice being a founding principle that the United States is built on. He invokes this. He invokes the idea of morally he invokes the Constitution. In putting forth this document, which is officially published on January 1, 1863, we started by asking what this image could tell us about the Emancipation Proclamation and its importance in US
6:11 history. We learned about some of the symbolism in the print. Lincoln’s goal of using constitutional means to end slavery and how the Emancipation Proclamation signaled that the Civil War was a war to end slavery from here on out. But as always, there is so much more to this story. And now I’m going to turn it over to you.
6:31 What questions do you have? What comments do you have? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you learned something, be sure to like this video and subscribe to our channel to be in the know about other resources and contests, anything to help you through the school year. I’ll be back soon with a new image to help us think about important topics in US history and civics.
6:51 Until then, everybody take care. Well, I’m done studying. That video filled in all the blanks for me. Well, just in case you need more help, the Bill of Rights Institute’s YouTube channel has tons of videos on American history, government and civics, from primary source. Document breakdowns to historical image analysis.
7:12 Whether you’re studying for a test or just interested in more, they’ve got something for you. And they put out more videos all the time. Really? Well, in that case, there’s no harm in brushing up on a few more topics. Check out another video here and be sure to subscribe here so you are never left out.
