The War Power

While Exiles influenced the public mood before the Civil War, the Black Seminoles had their most important, albeit indirect, impact on American life through the arguments and events that culminated in President Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. The Black Seminole influence on emancipation has remained obscure to history, much like the maroon community itself, and yet it can be traced—in public arguments over the use of the federal war power to grant freedom to rebellious slaves. These arguments first surfaced during the Second Seminole War. They evolved during the 1840s and 1850s through debates on the status of the Black Seminoles and other black rebels. They concluded in Lincoln’s call for emancipation of the southern slaves on January 1, 1863, an act preceded by vigorous national debate over the right to emancipate slaves under the war power.