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250 brooks d. simpson “The Doom of Slavery” Ulysses S. Grant, War Aims, and Emancipation, 1861–1863 brooks D. Simpson like manyNortherners,ulysses S.Grantwent towarin 1861 to save theunion— and nothing more—inwhat he predictedwould be a shortconflict. by1863, after twoyearsof bloodystruggle againsta stubbornenemy,Grantcame tounderstand that awarto preserve theunion must of necessitytransform thatunion.Central to that revolutionary transformation was the acceptance of emancipation as a war aim and the enrollment of ex-slaves in the bluecoat ranks. The intensity of Confederate resistance compelled union commanders to accept this notion, while the influx of black refugees into yankee camps helped to force a decision. in 1861 Grant believed that the union should keep hands off slavery if a quick peace and rapid reconciliationwas desired. by1863circumstances had changed. Notions of a limited conflict gavewayto theconcept of a total warwaged against Southern resources and morale as well as manpower. New means were needed to attainvictory.To save theunion one mustdestroyslavery.Grant’s experiences as a field commander are illustrative of this process, suggesting the interaction between the progress of the war effort, the escalation of Southern resistance, and the transformation of war aims to encompass emancipation. From war’s beginning Grant realized that at the core of the dispute was the 250 E The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance provided by a research grant from Wofford College . He thanks richard H. Sewell and Allan G. bogue for their advice and counsel and John y. Simon and David l. Wilson for their encouragement. Civil War History, vol. XXXvi No. 1 © 1990 by The kent State university Press “the doom of slavery” 251 1. on Grant and slavery see brooks D. Simpson, “butcher? racist? An Examination of William S. mcFeely’s Grant: A Biography,” Civil War History 33 (march 1987), 63–83. 2. ulysses S. Grant to Frederick Dent, April 19, 1861, in John y. Simon, ed., The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, 16 vols. to date (Carbondale, ill.: Southern illinois university Press, 1967–88), 2:3–4. 3. ulysses S. Grant to mary Grant, April 29, 1861, ibid., 2:13–14; Grant to Jesse root Grant, institutionof slavery. His positionon the peculiarinstitutionwas ambiguous, and he leftnodetailed explanation of his feelings forhistorians toexamine. marriage to the daughter of a slaveholder entangled him in slavery: he worked alongside slaves, his wife owned four house servants, and he was a slaveholder for a short period. yet family slaves heard him speak out against the institution, he did not succumb to the blatant prejudices of his age, and he freed the slave he owned at a time when the money a sale might have brought could have been a great boon. He showed no interest in protecting slavery, let alone perpetuating it.1 moreover,Grantunderstood thattheadventof warinthespringof 1861would affect slavery, no matter the outcome. Southerners were risking the foundation of their society even as they defended it. “in all this i can but see the doom of Slavery,” he told his father-in-law. “The North do not want, nor will they want, to interfere with the institution. but they will refuse for all time to give it protection unless the South shall return soon to their allegiance.” The disruption of the Southern economy by war would render it vulnerable to international competition, reducing theworth of slaves“so much that theywill never beworth fighting over again.” Slaverywould be destroyed as a consequence of prolonged conflict, a casualty of events rather than the target of union policy.2 Nevertheless, a quick Northernvictory, achieved before hatred could become deep-seated, might minimize the impact of the conflict upon slavery. And Grant believed that such a rapid triumph was possible. Startled by the vigorous reaction of Northerners in Sumter’s aftermath, he ventured that if Southerners ever discovered what they had wrought, “they would lay down their arms at once in humble submission.”Confidently he predicted a Northern triumph in a conflict “of short duration.” With “a few decisive victories” by the North the “howling” Confederates would flee the field. “All the states will then be loyal for a generation to come, negroes will depreciate so rapidly in value that no body will want to own them and their masters will be the loudest in their declamations against the institutions in a political and economic view.” if slavery was to suffer, it would be as a byproduct of the conflict, not because of deliberate policy decisions to eradicate it. indeed, to take such steps might only prolong the...

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