Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how
Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm editor Candis Gibson, joined by staff writer Jane McGrath Taylor, Jane.
Speaker 1: When you think about presidential speeches are really any speech
Speaker 1: in general, there's essentially two different types of appeals that
Speaker 1: you can make to the members of an audience. You
Speaker 1: can make a path that's appeals and you're appealing to
Speaker 1: someone's emotions, or you can make an ethos appeal and
Speaker 1: you're appealing to someone's morality and in sense of ethics
Speaker 1: is from my rhetoric class. Yeah, yeah. I I took
Speaker 1: speech writing my senior year of college spring semester, thinking
Speaker 1: it would try to be a snooze and it'd be,
Speaker 1: you know, a way to pass the time until I graduated,
Speaker 1: And it turned out to be a really tough class,
Speaker 1: so it wasn't my favorite. I loved rhetoric, Yeah yeah,
Speaker 1: And obviously I I've learned a lot about speech, judging
Speaker 1: from my lofty annunciation and vocabulary. But the point being, um,
Speaker 1: a couple of different presidents throughout history seems to have
Speaker 1: preferred one method or another depending on the circumstances, and
Speaker 1: there's some pretty memorable ones that speak to each of
Speaker 1: these different types of um delivery. I think about the
Speaker 1: Berlin Wall speech, which we've had a podcast about before,
Speaker 1: when Kennedy said that he was a Berliner, or as
Speaker 1: some people have misinterpreted, he was a deadly donut. That
Speaker 1: definitely made a huge emotional appeal to people of Berlin, say,
Speaker 1: I'm one of you. But when you kind of something
Speaker 1: like ethos and appealing to someone's sense of morality, you
Speaker 1: think about someone like Abraham Lincoln. Definitely Gettysburg address maybe,
Speaker 1: and that one even I think had a bit of
Speaker 1: an emotional residence to it too. But one of the
Speaker 1: most ethical proclamations he made was the Emancipation Proclamation. That's true,
Speaker 1: and it's pretty interesting, uh, in contrast to the Gettysburg Address.
Speaker 1: It was it was very legal, it was a legal
Speaker 1: document and it was a military top actic basically, and uh,
Speaker 1: but like you said, it did appeal to morality at
Speaker 1: the same time, So there is that contrast in it.
Speaker 1: And if you read the Emancipation Proclamation, which we're not
Speaker 1: going to do for you because I think it was
Speaker 1: a very few lines through, it really has a bunch
Speaker 1: of legal lads, and it's seven hundred words long, and
Speaker 1: it actually didn't free any slaves at all, that's right,
Speaker 1: and UH people say that, you know, it was kind
Speaker 1: of unnecessary because there were congressional acts that were already
Speaker 1: in place that that said that they that whatever um
Speaker 1: slaves that the Northern UH troops encounter, they would free
Speaker 1: if they um if they conquered that area. Right, So
Speaker 1: essentially they set up the president that because slaves were property,
Speaker 1: if the Union troops came in and conquered the area,
Speaker 1: then they acquired all the property, the slaves being part
Speaker 1: of that, and they would be free forever. And Lincoln
Speaker 1: said from the beginning to his cabinet and his advisors
Speaker 1: he wasn't going to try to free the slaves because
Speaker 1: you know, the country was in such a state of
Speaker 1: up people already. In His biggest concern was, you know, uh,
Speaker 1: getting the succeeded south the Confederacy to come back to
Speaker 1: the Union. And the cabinet had at least some support
Speaker 1: for the idea of gradual emancipation, that this would be
Speaker 1: something that could be you know, slowly handed out over time,
Speaker 1: which is almost like I have to mention him, of course,
Speaker 1: almost like the idea of Thomas Jefferson had in the
Speaker 1: day about slavery, that eventually the institution would work its
Speaker 1: way out. But Lincoln one day, he was actually on
Speaker 1: the way to the War Secretary's infant's son's funeral, and
Speaker 1: he was writing in a carriage with some of his
Speaker 1: top confidants, and he said, you know what I'm gonna
Speaker 1: do it. I'm going to set the slaves free. But
Speaker 1: he did it in such a shrewd and calculated way
Speaker 1: that it really clashes in my mind that the image
Speaker 1: I've always had of Lincoln, which is this top hat wearing,
Speaker 1: scraggly bearded, sort of droopy eyed, sad somber man. He
Speaker 1: was quite a politician with us, that's true, and it
Speaker 1: sort of was in the face of most people's ideal
Speaker 1: image of of Lincoln in terms of someone who was
Speaker 1: out for the slaves from the beginning. Like like you said,
Speaker 1: coming back to your point, he didn't start this war
Speaker 1: with the intent of ending slavery in the South, and uh,
Speaker 1: he was against slavery, but um, like you said, he
Speaker 1: wanted to preserve the Union first and foremost, and he
Speaker 1: actually uh stumbled into this situation because it was a
Speaker 1: great military tactic to use, and he actually calculated Lee
Speaker 1: used the time of immediately after the Antietam the Battle
Speaker 1: of Antietam, which happened to be the bloodiest war in
Speaker 1: the Civil War, and the bloodies battle, excuse me and um.
Speaker 1: And so after this happened, you know, the country is suffering. Obviously,
Speaker 1: people are wondering what are we fighting about after all,
Speaker 1: you know, and it's it's fairly confusing when what caused
Speaker 1: the war, and it's not exactly slavery that caused in
Speaker 1: the first place. So when Lincoln uh put out the
Speaker 1: Emancipation Proclamation, it really focused everyone's mind on slavery itself.
Speaker 1: It did. It boiled down the cause of the war
Speaker 1: to slavery, and Lincoln was advised by the Secretary of
Speaker 1: State WILLIAMS. Steward not to deliver the proclamation until the
Speaker 1: Union had had a victory, because in his mind, he
Speaker 1: thought it would look like the Union was claiming defeat
Speaker 1: to the world. And it's important to remember that at
Speaker 1: this time the South was still getting support, sort of
Speaker 1: surreptitious support, albeit from France and England. So the Union
Speaker 1: wanted to make sure that Europe and the rest of
Speaker 1: the world knew it was still strong and it's right,
Speaker 1: and I stumbled across that and it made me think, like,
Speaker 1: why would these international powers support the South in the
Speaker 1: first place. And it's interesting because it was a lot
Speaker 1: about trade because obviously the South controlled the cotton and yeah,
Speaker 1: and actually it wasn't a two distant memory that you know,
Speaker 1: the Second War of Independence, the War of eighteen twelve,
Speaker 1: it happened, and so they were still kind of hostile
Speaker 1: towards the United States at that time. And also, um
Speaker 1: there was there were questions and hostilities about the Canadian
Speaker 1: border even more recently than that. So England was very
Speaker 1: quickly jump on board to the South. But when when
Speaker 1: the war became about slavery, they couldn't do that anymore, right,
Speaker 1: because they had decried slavery in their own country several
Speaker 1: several years ago, and so they couldn't possibly be on
Speaker 1: board with a country. It's important to remember at this
Speaker 1: time that the Confederacy was its own country essentially, at
Speaker 1: least they consider themselves that. And we should note that
Speaker 1: before the Emancipation Proclamation was delivered on January one, eight
Speaker 1: sixty three, that's when it was laid down into law. Supposedly,
Speaker 1: there was a preliminary one that came out on September
Speaker 1: eighteen sixty two, and in this version, Lincoln was trying
Speaker 1: to give the Confederacy a chance to rejoin the Union
Speaker 1: and as a gift with purchase, I guess they could
Speaker 1: keep their slaves as long as they came back to
Speaker 1: the Union. He would work that out later on, but
Speaker 1: none of the Confederate states hopped on board. There were
Speaker 1: a couple of individual landowners who wanted to sign these
Speaker 1: sort of one on one loyalty packs, but Lincoln he
Speaker 1: wasn't buying that. Yeah, it's interesting. This document goes down
Speaker 1: in history is like, oh, it freed the slaves and
Speaker 1: free the slaves at the same time, Like, man, what
Speaker 1: was Lincoln doing here? He was he was giving the
Speaker 1: South and out. He was like, you can keep your slaves.
Speaker 1: That's what the document was saying. You can keep them,
Speaker 1: and it'll be fine if you rejoin now, if you
Speaker 1: lay down your arms. And the reason there was such
Speaker 1: opposition to this, at least in the cabinet, was that
Speaker 1: they feared there'd be a total massacre and utter pandemonium
Speaker 1: in the South if the slaves were freed. I guess
Speaker 1: they thought that they would, you know, wipe out the
Speaker 1: plantation owners and then they would storm up north and
Speaker 1: take all the Northerners jobs. And racism was just as
Speaker 1: prevalent in the North as it was in the South,
Speaker 1: and there were some who even postulated that the war
Speaker 1: was a conspiracy and all the northern soldiers were being killed,
Speaker 1: said that the freed slaves to come up to the
Speaker 1: north and take their jobs, and that's helped to spur
Speaker 1: their draft rights at the time, right exactly. But you
Speaker 1: know that the irony behind this was that even if
Speaker 1: the Emancipation Proclamation had freed all the slaves and it
Speaker 1: had accomplished that goal, you have to think about the
Speaker 1: way that information was disseminated at this time. It's not
Speaker 1: like we had SENNA, and it's not like we had NPR.
Speaker 1: It took a while for the news to get out,
Speaker 1: and in some cases at some plantations, in places like
Speaker 1: the floor keys or even in Texas, the slaves didn't
Speaker 1: hear the news until well after Lincoln's assassination, that's right,
Speaker 1: and that's where we get the idea of June teenth. Uh.
Speaker 1: It was a date where June nineteenth, I should say
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty five was the date that slaves in Texas
Speaker 1: actually first short of emancipation proclamation, and so that's when
Speaker 1: Texas actually celebrates that date. And when you look at
Speaker 1: the order in which the slave I'm sorry, the states
Speaker 1: let go of the institution of slavery, you'll see them.
Speaker 1: The border states really were some of the last two, uh,
Speaker 1: losing their grip on the institution, that's right. And they
Speaker 1: were left out of the proclamation, right, it didn't apply
Speaker 1: to them at all, right, And that was another political move.
Speaker 1: Lincoln knew that his hold on Congress was pretty tenuous,
Speaker 1: and he feared that he would polarize the Republican Party
Speaker 1: and and lose all the Republicans support if he continued
Speaker 1: to put this idea of emancipating the slaves. And really,
Speaker 1: if if you listen to the detractors behind the emancipation proclamations,
Speaker 1: criticism it was illegal. He was acting far out of
Speaker 1: his jurisdiction if you uphold the fact that the Confederacy
Speaker 1: was its own country at this time. And in our
Speaker 1: article about the immense patient proclamation on how stuff works,
Speaker 1: the author uses this really great analogy she said it
Speaker 1: would be like the United States saying to France, you
Speaker 1: have to outlaw smoking. We don't really have the authority
Speaker 1: to say that to another country. And so Democrats and
Speaker 1: Republicans who were really trying to follow the Constitution to
Speaker 1: the letter, told Lincoln you can't do this, that's right,
Speaker 1: And Lincoln actually violated the Constitution. Some say, uh in
Speaker 1: many different ways. He withold habeas corpus and and stuff
Speaker 1: like this, but he sort of um hid behind the
Speaker 1: idea that these were military tactics, and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: to this day like and as a hero um to
Speaker 1: most people in this country, and they defend him in
Speaker 1: these acts because they were military time optics. But back then,
Speaker 1: I don't think he's satisfied a lot of people for
Speaker 1: the proclamation. The abolitionists wanted complete freedom of all slaves,
Speaker 1: and then the plantation owners, of course wanted to keep
Speaker 1: holding on to their their workers. So he didn't why either,
Speaker 1: he didn't satisfy anyone. It's like he was trying to
Speaker 1: walk such a straight line that both sides just completely
Speaker 1: scoffed to him. And then of course, you know, like
Speaker 1: we already mentioned, they were the conspiracies from the Northerners
Speaker 1: that thought all the slaves were just being sent up
Speaker 1: north to take over their lives. Right. But one aspect
Speaker 1: of this that was really brilliant, and it actually had
Speaker 1: a great immediate effect, was the fact that um, black soldiers,
Speaker 1: freed slaves would uh would join the north and become soldiers.
Speaker 1: And there was about a hundred and eighty thousand I
Speaker 1: believe that joined after the proclamation was declared, and the
Speaker 1: proclamation made it explicitly clear that freed slaves, or I
Speaker 1: guess all blacks in general, could join the armed forces.
Speaker 1: And I think that people were suspicious of their efforts
Speaker 1: at first, but they really proved themselves. I mean, obviously
Speaker 1: this was a cause that they were perhaps the cloist too.
Speaker 1: So um, we know also when we look at the
Speaker 1: Emancipatient Proclamation that it's, like we said, it's a bunch
Speaker 1: of legal lease. But one of the boldest things about it,
Speaker 1: if you really get down to the language, is that
Speaker 1: it's written in present tense, and some of the drafts
Speaker 1: that Lincoln had made of the proclamation were written in
Speaker 1: future tense. But he reasoned, no, I want this to
Speaker 1: be immediate. I wanted to be prescient, and I want
Speaker 1: people to really stand up and pay attention. And if
Speaker 1: you think about it, that really would have grabbed people's attention,
Speaker 1: you know, hearing slavery spoken of as an institution of
Speaker 1: the past, it's not the future. That's kind of nebulous.
Speaker 1: It may never happen, right, right, But perhaps the biggest
Speaker 1: ripple effect from the Emancipatient Proclamation was that it dealt
Speaker 1: a severe blow to the Southern psyche because for the
Speaker 1: first time, poor white people in the South started to
Speaker 1: realize that their family members and their sons and themselves
Speaker 1: were dying so that wealthy white landowners could continue to build.
Speaker 1: And they if they didn't hold slaves, they don't have
Speaker 1: a stake in this. They might be anti slavery even
Speaker 1: or you know, get behind the cell for other reasons
Speaker 1: and the like the rights of the States reasons, but
Speaker 1: now after them based in proclamation, it's all about slavery.
Speaker 1: It really is. It really is, like we said, an
Speaker 1: incredibly shrewd move. So it took a while for these
Speaker 1: effects to take hold in the United States, and then
Speaker 1: after the Civil War was over, we know that things
Speaker 1: didn't exactly work out smoothly from there. On out. When
Speaker 1: Andrew Johnson came into office after lincoln'ssassination, he was sharply
Speaker 1: criticized for being too lenient on the Confederate's day because
Speaker 1: he was just trying to you know, piece the Union
Speaker 1: back together as Lincoln would have wanted, and again harsh
Speaker 1: criticism from his detractors. And if we look at what
Speaker 1: happened to the slaves after they were freed, we see
Speaker 1: it's still not a pretty story at all constitutionally speaking either. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's right. They were contraband camps, I believe, I mean,
Speaker 1: these were these were camps that were meant to to
Speaker 1: protect the slaves uh near um northern forts, but at
Speaker 1: the time, like it ended up being not the greatest
Speaker 1: place to live, you know, these contraband camps, and it
Speaker 1: ended up giving them not a very good living at
Speaker 1: all at all. And when we look at the laws
Speaker 1: that were passed in order to protect the newly freed slaves,
Speaker 1: we have the thirteenth Amendment, which officially abolished slavery, but
Speaker 1: it didn't give them citizenship. Then the fourteenth it prevented
Speaker 1: states from holding out on slaves rights without due process,
Speaker 1: and then the fifteenth gave all the free slaves voting rights,
Speaker 1: and we know about the gym crow laws that we
Speaker 1: followed and stut and the absurd tests that blacks would
Speaker 1: be made to undergo at voting and polling stations. And
Speaker 1: so they weren't completely assimilated into the American mainstream until
Speaker 1: well after the civil rights movements. It was a long,
Speaker 1: painful process, but at least the proclamation started. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: we may have vested your view of the Emancipation Proclamation
Speaker 1: and maybe of Lincoln. Maybe now when you think of him,
Speaker 1: you won't think of him as the sad dide wartime president,
Speaker 1: but you'll think of him as a very shrewd political
Speaker 1: I know that my opinion has been changed to him.
Speaker 1: And you can read even more about Lincoln and the
Speaker 1: Civil War and the families that were torn apart by
Speaker 1: the battle on how stuff works dot com for more
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