Chapter 7 Summary and Analysis

In chapter seven, as the war progressed, what to do about slaves and freed slaves who wanted to serve in the Union Army became an issue. At first Lincoln instructed his officers not to allow blacks in the army. Lincoln was afraid the nation was not prepared for such a radical move and still worried that the border states would secede. Lincoln struggled to appease the border states while also attempting to conform to his own desire to see slavery abolished. In July of 1862, Lincoln introduced legislation to Congress for gradual emancipation of the slaves in the border states, but the measure failed. A short time later, Lincoln introduced a measure that would give compensation to states who agreed to abolish slavery. This offer was also rejected. However, as the military continued to struggle to find enough men for menial labor...