But when, after that battle, the Confederate army, under Lee, crossed the Potomac and invaded Maryland, Lincoln vowed in his heart that, if the Union army were now blessed with success, the decree of freedom should surely be issued.  The victory of Antietam was won on September 17, and the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation came forth on the a 22d.  It was Lincoln’s own resolution and act; but practically it bound the nation, and permitted no step backward.  In spite of its limitations, it was the actual abolition of slavery.  Thus he wrote his name upon the books of history with the title dearest to his heart, the liberator of the slave.

It is true, the great proclamation, which stamped the war as one for “union and freedom,” did not at once mark the turning of the tide on the field of military operations.  There were more disasters, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.  But with Gettysburg and Vicksburg the whole aspect of the war changed.  Step by step, now more slowly, then more rapidly, but with increasing steadiness, the flag of the Union advanced from field to field toward the final consummation.  The decree of emancipation was naturally followed by the enlistment of emancipated negroes in the Union armies.  This measure had a anther reaching effect than merely giving the Union armies an increased supply of men.  The laboring force of the rebellion was hopelessly disorganized.  The war became like a problem of arithmetic.  As the Union armies pushed forward, the area from which the Southern Confederacy could draw recruits and supplies constantly grew smaller, while the area from which the Union recruited its strength constantly grew larger; and everywhere, even within the Southern lines, the Union had its allies.  The fate of the rebellion was then virtually decided; but it still required much bloody work to convince the brave warriors who fought for it that they were really beaten.

Neither did the Emancipation Proclamation forthwith command universal assent among the people who were loyal to the Union.  There were even signs of a reaction against the administration in the fall elections of 1862, seemingly justifying the opinion, entertained by many, that the President had really anticipated the development of popular feeling.  The cry that the war for the Union had been turned into an “abolition war” was raised again by the opposition, and more loudly than ever.  But the good sense and patriotic instincts of the plain people gradually marshalled themselves on Lincoln’s side, and he lost no opportunity to help on this process by personal argument and admonition.  There never has been a President in such constant and active contact with the public opinion of the country, as there never has been a President who, while at the head of the government, remained so near to the people.  Beyond the circle of those who had long known him the feeling steadily grew that the man in the White House was “honest Abe Lincoln” still, and that every