Reviews

Abraham Lincoln and his relationship with the institution of slavery remains one of the more complex political questions in the history of America. Individually, Lincoln was a man who opposed slavery. Yet, as a pragmatic politician, Lincoln realized that mainstream opinion on the issue of slavery was not aimed at immediate emancipation. Although a strong body of opinion had arisen in the nation virulently opposed to slavery in the form of the abolitionists, most Americans did not support the notion that Blacks and Whites were equal. However, many Americans did realize that slavery was an institution grounded upon the cruel concept that human beings could be bought and sold as property. Lincoln, elected president at a time of national crisis and subsequent civil war, could not act in a radical manner. Therefore, what came to be known as the Emancipation Proclamation, gradually evolved and ultimately set the stage for the end of slavery in the United States. The story of the Emancipation Proclamation is one of fits and starts. Author David Holford chronicles the pathway that led Lincoln, and the American people, to the gradual dissolution of slavery. Holford traces the political route that was traveled to achieve this end as well as profiling President Lincoln, the architect of the Emancipation Proclamation. This is a well-researched study and one that provides readers with insights into a valiant political initiative., Children's Literature