PROFILES IN LEADERSHIP: LINCOLN ISSUES THE PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION - TO END SLAVERY AND TO WIN THE WAR

By Jan-Benedict Steenkamp

Example of Leadership

The U.S. Civil War (1861-65) started over the right of states to secede from the Union, not over slavery. But despite the overwhelming might of the North, the war did not go well for the North. Southern generalship was superior and many Southerners believed they were fighting for their right to live the lives they wanted to lead.

This contrasted with the state of mind of many Northern soldiers. For many , dying for the abstract ideal of maintaining the Union was not so motivating. This changed when on Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It made freeing the slaves an explicit second goal of the war effort. Its legality was unclear as it was issued under the president's authority to suppress rebellion. It was not a law passed by Congress. (The 13th Amendment rectified this. It reads: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.)

But it gave the war a higher purpose – to die for the ending of a horrible institution. It was also an astute decision. It gave Northern soldiers a higher cause, a cause to believe in, and if necessary, to die for. But less well-known is that it also was a monumental decision from an international strategic point of view. What was going on?

In 1860, the two most powerful countries in the world were France, and even more so, Britain. While the North blockaded the South, its navy was vastly inferior to the vaunted Royal Navy. Moreover, Britain's industrial strength dwarfed that of the North. And worryingly, France and Britain were wavering. If they threw their support behind the South, a split up of the United States was all but certain. This would weaken an emerging rival across the Atlantic. The enmity between North and South would mean that for many decades, the North would not be able to play a major role on the world scene. Lincoln was well aware of all this.

The Proclamation changed everything. Neither country could do that. It would be political suicide. The most important person to consider was the British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston. He was the most hard-nosed politician of his age. He was a driving force behind the so-called Opium War (1839-1842) between Britain and China to force China to allow continued import of opium! Later, he threatened war on Greece because a mob there had threatened life and property of a British citizen (who was by the way a dubious character). He uttered the famous words that Britain did not have eternal friends, only eternal interests. However, one thing was off bounds - any support of slavery. British might would not break the blockade and supply the South with much needed war materiel.

The Proclamation effectively isolated the South and its fate was sealed – albeit still an awful amount of blood would be shed before they realized it.

Lesson

Lincoln showed that moral leadership can be both possible and highly effective. He also showed that doing the right thing and doing the smart thing can be aligned when done by great leaders. His overriding central goals in his presidency were preservation of the Union and emancipation of American slaves. But less known is that he pursued these lofty goals with maneuvers that were as foxy as one could imagine – resorting to deals, bribes, flattery, arm-twisting, and outright lies. In the terminology of my upcoming book, he was a true eagle.

Lincoln is regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all U.S. presidents. This, too, is highly encouraging. He did not receive an outstanding education and before he became president, he had experienced many more failures than successes.

Jan-Benedict Steenkamp is C. Knox Massey Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Honorary Professor at EIASM (Brussels), Fellow at Fudan University (Shanghai), and and Executive Director of AiMark.

His new book, Time to Lead: Lessons for Today’s Leaders from Bold Decisions that Changed History is now widely available.