Emancipation Proclamation -- the First Draft

Abraham Lincoln
First draft of the Emancipation Proclamation
Page 2
Holograph document, July 22, 1862
Manuscript Division

On July 13, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) consulted Secretaries William H. Seward and Gideon Welles on the particulars of the Emancipation Proclamation. Both men were speechless. Seward anticipated anarchy in the South and perhaps foreign intervention. Seeing that Welles was even more confused, Lincoln let the matter rest, but on July 22 he presented this draft proclamation to the full cabinet. Reaction was mixed. Cabinet secretaries Stanton and Chase advocated the document's immediate release, but Postmaster General Montgomery Blair foresaw defeat in the coming fall elections. Lincoln again abandoned the issue; however, it was clear to his advisors that his mind was set. There would be an Emancipation Proclamation at year's end.