Why didn't lincoln just use all the slaves as soldiers to fight the confederates in the beginning?

cosaxteacher

Because he knew that wouldn't help him keep office.

STACEY S

He was trying to free them if he made them fight as soldiers they still would have been slaves.

Leogirl0804

ummm perhaps because they were not free yet?

omigirrl

because the slaves were the property of the confederates! the fight was over their freedom,SHEESH!!!

hajgora7

There was a large leap between wanting to freee the slaves, which he didn't do in the begining of the war. There was still much resistance in the minds of Northerners as well, that it was not safe to place arms in the hands of Blacks, that Blacks might not be suited to the discipline of military, and other ideas which we now know to be ridiculous.
Racism existed as it still does today, only stronger then, both in the North and in the South. There was very strong resistance to treating Blacks with dignity and respect, in the Union Army too. Even after Blacks were allowed in the military, they were given very substandard wages or not paid at all. They were ill treated in many instances.
Lincoln could not just announce that slaves were free, or he could, but slaves were very closely controlled in the Southern states, even to the point that they were moved away from the border areas and coast, where they might try to escape.

alchemthis

1. He was a leader of his party
2. Politically it would have killed him
3. He had morals

NOVA50

The Civil War wasn't based on freeing the slaves until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. The war was started to restore the Union.

The white soldiers didn't always like the black soliders. The movie Glory tells more about that.

satirecafe

Because that would be virtually impossible. Plus, in the beginning lincoln didn't care that much about freeing the slaves.

MUMMKA

there wasn't enought of them now there all around

CoastalCutie

Because when the war started, most of them were still on the plantations, and living with their masters, taking care of home while the men who owned them were away fighting.

And believe it or not, quite a large majority were loyal to their masters and families... Most were treated quite well, and were happy where they were. But it's funny....history books are written by the winners of the wars fought...so the north wrote the ones taught in the schools.

In Atlanta, in a library there, there is a letter from Lincoln to one of his best friends, a southern man, and it states that if he can end this war (Civil war) by freeing the slaves, he would do so...if he can end this war by NOT freeing the slaves, then he would do that. Contrary to popular belief....he wasn't the savior everyone makes him out to be...all HE wanted was an end to a civil war that was tearing families apart, and had brothers killing brothers.

But it's not the "correct" version of history, even though it's the truth.

mayigniteunderpressure

I don't think it ever occured to him that he had the power to do that.

theaterhanz

Lincoln didn't plan to free the slaves at first.

He was only trying to mantain the Union, not change the way of life. Once he had an opertunity to free the, he desicded to takew it, and then could use ex-slaves to fight.

Also: he wanted to keep boarder slave state happy, and by keeping slavery and not taking them to fight, he was able to save the states.

Roadrunner58-79

About half of the soldiers fighting for the north were ex-slaves.
Read American Civil War and you'll find out things that you didn't learn in those government schools that you went to.

Niche Jerk

Because the owners wouldn't let him talk to the slaves, the slaves were mostly illiterate and so had no chance of learning anything that wasn't said to them directly in most cases.

ERICKSMAMA

Because he wanted to free them not put them to death....

kyeann

1. Lincoln did not exploit them the way the slave owners did.
2. Many of the slaves were loyal to their owners; many continued to serve after they were free.
3. I believe some african-americans did fight in the civil war at their own choice.

patch

duh, that goes against any civil liberties he was supposedly fighting for. kind of kills the political argument.

thewordofgodisjesus

On a sie note, It's been said that 25% of the Union Soldiers WERE the black freed

Lestat

because his main goal wasnt to free the slaves. IF he duid that most of the country would hate him unless he did it to win the war.

oldsoul

Uh, uh......well, lots of freed blacks did fight with the North. (See the movie "Glory") But the slaves in the South didn't have enough info to rise up and fight, or power, or organization, or.......anything!

Complicated......

rjekqlw

because they belonged to people and lincoln cant just say give me what u paid thousands of dollars for for free!!!

michinoku2001

Lincoln and his abolitionist allies were against slavery, but they invariably had ideas that we would consider racist today. It was pretty much taken for granted at the time that black men lacked the qualities that make a man a good soldier-even though black soldiers performed well in combat when given the chance.

Even during WW2 the US Army didn't send black soldiers into combat until the Battle of the Bulge forced their hand. That was partially due to racism on the part of rank and file white soldiers who might balk at fighting alongside black soldiers, but even the most enlightened people on the general staff tended to think black soldiers lacked initiative and fighting spirit.

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