PAGE32PAGE31摘要所謂美國黑人，是歷史上被歐洲殖民者劫運(yùn)到美國的非洲黑人奴隸的后裔，又稱非洲裔美國人。屬尼格羅人種。其中2／3為黑白混血種人。通用英語。美國黑人在歷史上起過重要作用，他們積極參加美國獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭和反法西斯戰(zhàn)爭，屢立戰(zhàn)功。對(duì)發(fā)展美國的經(jīng)濟(jì)文化也作出了很大貢獻(xiàn)，他們一直是美國農(nóng)業(yè)的主要力量；在鋼鐵工業(yè)中黑人工人約占1／3，在汽車工業(yè)中約占半數(shù)；在音樂、文藝、體育方面，黑人的成就更為顯著。本文主要從稱謂，政治，經(jīng)濟(jì)，黑人英語，以及文化等方面來研究美國黑人在歷史上角色的演變，充分考察了美國歷史文化，選取在各個(gè)領(lǐng)域最有代表的美國黑人以及對(duì)美國黑人地位演變有著巨大推動(dòng)作用的人物，從正面和側(cè)面來證明如下結(jié)論：美國黑人從奴隸到總統(tǒng)這漫長的歷史中，在實(shí)現(xiàn)族種平等擺脫奴隸制度的艱難過程中，付出了血與淚的代價(jià)；美國黑人角色的演變和地位的提高標(biāo)志著美國民主制度的逐步完善。推而廣之，一個(gè)種族，一類群體要想在其所屬的領(lǐng)域占有一席之地，有所建樹，是要從各個(gè)方面來提升自己并拼搏的，即中國古語所說的文武雙全；反之，要看一個(gè)種族，一類群體是否在其所屬的領(lǐng)域地位和角色有所提升，是要從各個(gè)方面考察的?？傊?，道路是曲折的，可是，前途卻是光明的。關(guān)鍵詞:奴隸制度美國黑人角色演變ABSTRACTAfrican-AmericansarepersonsfromAmericawhoaremembersofaraceofpeoplewhohavedarkskin,originallyfromAfrica.TheyweretransportedtotheUnitedStatesbyEuropeancolonizersandcalledAfrican,Negro,Colored,andBlackinhistory.TheoriginalroleoftheAfricanAmericansinAmericansocietyisAfricanslaves.Thoughtheylivedinpooraccommodationsandlackedadequatefood,theymadeaverypositivecontributiontoAmericansocietyinhistory.（Pollard,2004）ThisstudyismainlyconcernsontheevolutionofAfrican-Americans’role-playinAmericansocietyfromthefollowingaspects:appellation,politics,economy,BlackEnglish,literature,etc;thisstudyisthroughgreatinformationaboutAmericanhistoryandculture,conspicuousrepresentativesfromrespectivefieldtoanalyzingAfrican-Americans’evolutionaryrolesindetaildirectlyorindirectly.Fromthispaper,someconclusionscanbedrawn.Intheprocessofslippingslavery,fulfillingracialequality,improvingAmericandemocraticsystem,African-AmericansplayasignificantroleinAmericansociety.TheydeserveahigherstatusinAmericansocietyafterallthatlife-longhardworkwithterriblecostoftherevolutionindeathandsuffering.Throughanalyzingthat,getadeeperconclusionthatitneedall-roundpromotioninimprovingtheroleofsomegroupofweakraceorminorityinsocietythoughbleedinganddifficultitmaybe.Weshouldrespectthem.Theirexperiencesprovethatprocessiswinding,andfutureispromising.Keyword:SlaveryAfricanAmericanEvolutionaryRole目錄TOC\o"1-2"\h\z\u1. 引言 11.1美國黑人的定義 21.2美國黑人的原始角色及概況 21.3制約美國黑人發(fā)展的因素 32從稱謂變化看美國黑人的角色演變 42.1非洲人 42.2有色人 42.3尼格羅 52.4黑人 52.5非洲裔美國人 63從政治和經(jīng)濟(jì)角度看美國黑人角色演變 83.1亞伯拉罕·林肯的《解放黑人奴隸宣言》 83.2馬丁·路德·金的《我有一個(gè)夢(mèng)想》 123.3芭芭拉·喬丹的正義之聲 143.4貝拉克·奧巴馬的“是的，我們可以” 163.5美國黑人對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)所做出的貢獻(xiàn) 204從黑人英語看美國黑人角色演變 214.1黑人英語概述 214.2黑人英語的起源 214.3黑人英語的地位 245從文化角度看美國黑人角色演變 255.1音樂 255.2體育 275.3文學(xué) 27結(jié)論 29致謝 30參考文獻(xiàn) 30CONTENTSTOC\o"1-2"\h\z\u1. Introduction 11.1TheDefinitionofAfricanAmericans 21.2TheOriginalRoleofAfricanAmericans 21.3TheMainFactorsthatshapeAfricanAmericans 32TheEvolutioninAppellation 42.1African 42.2Colored 42.3Negro 52.4Black 52.5AfricanAmerican 63TheEvolutionofAframericans’RolesinPoliticsandEconomy 83.1AbrahamLincolnandtheEmancipationProclamation 83.2MartinLutherKingandIHaveaDream 123.3BarbaraJordanandHerVoiceforJustice 143.4BarackObamaandYesWeCan 173.5AfricanAmerican’sContributiontoEconomy 204BlackEnglish 224.1IntroductionofBlackEnglish 224.2TheHistoricalOriginsofBlackEnglish 224.3TheRoleofBlackEnglish 255TheEvolutionofAframericans’RolesinCulture 265.1Music 265.2Sports 285.3Literature 28Conclusion 30Acknowledgements 31Bibliography 32IntroductionTheMainFactorsthatshapeAfricanAmericanswastheirculturaldifferencesfromtheEuropeanAmericansexcludedthemfromequalparticipationinAmericansocietythroughformalandinformalbarriersandtheirhistoricalcircumstances.(Robertson,1986)SotheoriginalroleofAfrican-Americanwasverylow.Theywerenotallowedtomarry,beeducatedorworkindependently.Sincetheywerenotallowedtopracticetheirculturalactivitiesorspeaktheirnativelanguages,theylosttheirAfricancultureandlanguagecompletely.Theyworkedlongdays,didnothavemuchofafamilylife,andwerelynchedforviolationoftherulessetbytheirowners.Theylivedinpooraccommodationsandlackedadequatefood.（Pollard,2004）Slaverywasoutlawedin1780inthenorthernstates.AttheendoftheUSCivilWar(1865),slaverywasabolishedeverywhereintheUnitedStates.Legalsegregationslowlyended,beginningwithPresidentTruman’sdirective(1948)toensegregationintheUSmilitaryandtheUSSupremeCourtdecision(1954)inthecaseofBrownvs.theBroadofEducationofTopeka,Kansas.TheCivilRightsMovementledbyMartinLutherKing,Jr.finallydesegregatedtheSouthinthe1960’s.TheCivilRightsAct(1964-1965)integratedminorities,womenandotherdisadvantagedpeopleintotheworkforce.InspiteoftheselawsandAffirmativeActionwhichgivespreferentialtreatmenttowomenandminorities,discriminationinemploymentandhousingstillexists.Bythe1990’smoreeducationalandemploymentopportunitiesforAfricanAmericansandotherminoritiesbecameavailable.However,becauseAffirmativeActionhasbeencontroversialsinceitsinception,ithasbeenchallengedandeliminatedinsomestates.（Almes，2004）AlargesegmentoftheBlackAfrican-Americanpopulationwastrappedinghettoes,areasinacitywhereminoritygroupslived,oftenbecauseofpressurefromthemajoritygroup.Unemployment,poverty,infantmortality,andalowerstatusinsocietywerecommoninghettoes.Asmembersofanunderclasssincethedaysofslavery,onlyalimitednumberofeducatedBlacksenjoyedthemoderateeconomicgainsbetweenthe1970’sand1990’s.ThispaperwillfirstconcernonthebackgroundoftheAfricanAmericans,andthenmakeananalysisthechangingoftherolesfromseveralaspects,suchaspolitics,economy,andappellation,language,etc.Thenlistingthechangingrolesduringthelongprocess,atlastgivesaconclusionoftheevolutionofAfricanAmericans’rolesfromanalysisandcomparison.TheAfrican-AmericanisaparticulargroupinAmerica.RacialdiscriminationisaparticularphenomenoninAmericansociety.SlaveryisaparticularsysteminAmericanhistory.Itdeservesstudy.ThispapergivesthespecificdetailsthatAfricanAmerican’srole-playinAmericafromfiveaspects,suchasappellation,politics,economy,BlackEnglish,literature.Maybetherearesomethingthatnotsothoughtfuloraccurate.Pleasegiveyourprevioussuggestions.1.1TheDefinitionofAfricanAmericansWhatisthemeaningofAfrican-American?Macroscopicallyspeaking,African-AmericanisapersonfromAmericawhoisamemberofaraceofpeoplewhohavedarkskin,originallyfromAfrica.Microcosmicallyspeaking,African-AmericansarealsocalledAfro-AmericansorAfromericans,whichweretransportedunlawfullytotheUnitedStatesbytheEuropeancolonizersinhistory.1.2TheOriginalRoleofAfricanAmericansBeginningin1619AfricanswereimportedtotheUnitedStatesasslavestoworkonthecotton,tobaccoandplantations.Gradually,aracistideologydeveloped.AfricanslaveswerecalledNegroandstereotypedassubhuman,innatelyirresponsible,stupid,lazyandpromiscuous.Theywerenotallowedtomarry,beeducatedorworkindependently.Sincetheywerenotallowedtopracticetheirculturalactivitiesorspeaktheirnativelanguages,theylosttheirAfricancultureandlanguagecompletely.Theyworkedlongdays,didnothavemuchofafamilylife,andwerelynchedforviolationoftherulessetbytheirowners.Theylivedinpooraccommodationsandlackedadequatefood.AlargesegmentoftheBlackAfrican-Americanpopulationwastrappedinghettoes,areasinacitywhereminoritygroupslived,oftenbecauseofpressurefromthemajoritygroup.Unemployment,poverty,infantmortality,andalowerstatusinsocietywerecommoninghettoes.Asmembersofanunderclasssincethedaysofslavery,onlyalimitednumberofeducatedBlacksenjoyedthemoderateeconomicgainsbetweenthe1970’sand1990’s.IntheUnitedStates,raceisaveryimportantissue.Raceguidesthebehavior,education,opportunitiesandresourcesofAmericans.DominantEuro-Americanshavetraditionallyheldpoliticalandeconomicpower.SincemanyEuro-AmericansconsidertheUnitedStatesastheircountry,psychologicallytheydonotseemtoacceptminorityAmericanswhoconstitutetheother20%ofthepopulation.BytheendofthetwentiethcenturytheAmericanracial/ethnicpopulationwasapproximately:Table2.1theAmericanracial/ethnicpopulationRace19801990(projected)2000Euro-Americans194,713,000208,710,000225,532,000Black26,683,00030,4486,00035,454,000NativeAmerican1,420,0002,065,0002,402,000TheDeclarationofIndependenceproclaimedthatallmenarecreatedequalandhaverightstolife,libertyandthepursuitofhappiness.TomasJefferson,whowrotetheDeclarationofIndependence,ownedslaves.OtherswhosignedthedocumentalsohadslavesandheldnegativeattitudestowardalargenumberofBlackAfrican-AmericansformerlycalledNegroes.Asamatteroffact,manyoftheleadersinthecolonieswhofoughtforAmericanindependenceownedslaves.ThiswastrueintheNortherncoloniesaswellastheSouthernones.OneexampleisthefamousAmericandiplomat,inventorandbusinessmanBenjaminFranklin.Heownedslavesforthirtyyearsandsoldthemathisgeneralstore.Buthisideasaboutslaverychangedduringhislonglife.BenjaminFranklinstartedthefirstschoolstoteachblacksandlaterarguedfortheirfreedom.(Pollard,2004)1.3TheMainFactorsthatshapeAfricanAmericansAccordingtoJanRobertson,twofactorshaveshapedtheconditionsofnon-EuropeansintheUnitedStates.First,theirculturaldifferencesfromtheEuropeanAmericansexcludedthemfromequalparticipationinAmericansocietythroughformalandinformalbarriers.Second,historicalcircumstancespreventedtheirparticipationasequalpartnersinthesociety.ThismeantthatBlackAfricanswhowereimportedasslaveswerenotusuallytreatedasequalsbytheirownersoremployers.2TheEvolutioninAppellationTherewasanEnglishsayingthatsticksandstonesmaybreakmybones,butwordscanneverhurtme.Itisalwaysutilizedself-consolethatonedoesn’thavetoworryaboutnegativethingsaboutspokenlanguage.However,asamatteroffact,mostpeoplewouldratherlosemoneythanbeslandered.That’swhatpeopleattachimportancetonowadays.Duetothephenomenaandideas,theoldsayinggetsseveralvariants.Suchas,sticksandstonesmaybreakmybones,andnamescanalsohurtme;Sticksandstonesmaybreakmybones,andwordscanalsohurtme,etc.That’sthevoiceagainstunequalspokenlanguage.AfricanAmericansgothroughalongandbloodywayinordertowinasatisfyingnameinsociety.Alongtheway,theirnameshavebeenchangedseveraltimes.(Du,2005)2.1AfricanIn1554,anEnglishmannamedWilliamTowersontookfiveAfricanstoEngland,wheretheyweretaughtEnglishandfosteredtobetranslatorsofslaverytradesothattheycouldbeputtogooduseofservingfortheWesternAfricancolonies.In1557,threeofthefiveAfricansreturnedtoGoldCoastofAfrica.ItsymbolizesthebeginningoftheiruseofEnglish.AndtheywerecalledAfricansbyEnglishfromthenon.TheappellationofAfricanwasusedtounitarilycallallkindsofAfricans.ButEuropeansinAmericatitled“free”or“slave”respectivelyaccordingtothenatureandtypeofAfricans.Forthosewhowereunidentified,theEuropeansinAmericatitledthemNiggerorNegro.Duringthetwotothreecenturies,Africanswereconsideredascomparativesinglestatus.Africanswereeither“free”or“slave”.SoAfrican’snotonlyanameofAfricansinAfricabutalsoatitleofAfricansinAmerica.2.2ColoredIn19thcentury,“Colored”becametheappellationofAfricanAmerican.PeoplecannotclearlydistinguishthenativeplaceinsemanticsfromtheappellationofAfrican,especiallyafterthefoundingoftheUnitedStates.Theslaverytradebecamelessandless,whiletheAfricanAmericansbecamemoreandmoreaftermultiplyingforgenerations.TheappellationofAfricanwouldconfusepeopleeasily.Atthebeginning,“Colored”referredtoseveralfreeAfricans.ThenpeopleconsidereditasalltheAfricaninAmerica.Thoughthe“Colored”showedracialdiscrimination,theleadingpersonsintheSlaveryAbolishingMovementused“Colored”intheirspeechesorarticles.Sootherpeopletacitlyapprovedit.In1909,theNationalAssociationfortheAdvancementofColoredPeople”showedthat“Colored”wastheformalappellationoftheAfricansinAmerica.2.3NegroTheappellationofNegrooriginatedintheendof19thcentury.TheAmericanNegroAcademyfoundedin1897andtheNationalBusinessLeaguefoundedin1900bothregardedNegroastheunifiedappellationoftheAfricansinAmerica.Atthebeginningof20thcentury,peoplechangedtheappellationoftheAfricansinAmericafrom“Colored”into“Negro”.Because“Colored”inAmericadedicatedtheirvaliantspiritandbleedingsacrificetofightingagainstfascists.ItsuddenlystruckAmericanpoliticiansthat“Colored”shouldbetreatedequally.Thoughtheidealdreamwasnotfulfilled,Americanofficialabolishedtheoldappellationandadopted“Negro”insteadinordertoestablishandsafeguardthedignityofAfricanAmericans.OnMarch7,1930,theNewYorkTimessaidthat“Negro”shouldbewrittenwithacapital“N”andit'stheformalappellationofAfricansinAmerica.2.4BlackAstimewenton,newspapersandpublishinghousesacceptedtheargumentthattheNegrogroupofwordshadindefensibleracialovertones.Anewnameshouldbesubstitutedfortheslavery-imposedname.In1966,anAmericanNegroleaderStokeleyCarmichaelissuedacallforBlackpower.UndertheinfluenceoftheBlackpower,manyAfricanAmericansstartedtorecognizetheirequalright.Theyunlockedcoloracracyandsaidtothemselves“I’mblack,andI’mproud”insteadof“Ifyouarewhite,youareallright;ifyouarebrown,stickaround;ifyouareblack,gitback”.There’sanessayandagreatpersonthatshowedtheoriginationoftheappellationofBlack.“Seemstomethattheinstitutionsthatfunctioninthiscountryareclearlyracist,andthatthey'rebuiltuponracism.Andthequestion,then,ishowcanblackpeopleinsideofthiscountrymove?Andthenhowcanwhitepeoplewhosaythey’renotapartofthoseinstitutionsbegintomove?Andhowthendowebegintoclearawaytheobstaclesthatwehaveinthissociety,thatmakeuslivelikehumanbeings?Howcanwebegintobuildinstitutionsthatwillallowpeopletorelatewitheachotherashumanbeings?Thiscountryhasneverdonethat,especiallyaroundthecountryofwhiteorblack.”“Nowwewanttotakethattoitslogicalextension,sothatwecouldunderstand,then,whatitsrelevancywouldbeintermsofnewcivilrightsbills.Imaintainthateverycivilrightsbillinthiscountrywaspassedforwhitepeople,notforblackpeople.Forexample,Iamblack.Iknowthat.IalsoknowthatwhileIamblackIamahumanbeing,andthereforeIhavetherighttogointoanypublicplace.Whitepeopledidn'tknowthat.EverytimeItriedtogointoaplacetheystoppedme.Sosomeboyshadtowriteabilltotellthatwhiteman,"He’sahumanbeing;don’tstophim."Thatbillwasforthatwhiteman,notforme.Iknewitallthetime.Iknewitallthetime.”“Andwe'renevergoingtogetcaughtupinquestionsaboutpower.Thiscountryknowswhatpoweris.Itknowsitverywell.AnditknowswhatBlackPoweris'causeitdeprivedblackpeopleofitfor400years.SoitknowswhatBlackPoweris.Thatthequestionof,Whydoblackpeople--WhydowhitepeopleinthiscountryassociateBlackPowerwithviolence?Andthequestionisbecauseoftheirowninabilitytodealwith"blackness."Ifwehadsaid"Negropower"nobodywouldgetscared.Everybodywouldsupportit.Orifwesaidpowerforcoloredpeople,everybodywouldbeforthat,butitistheword"black"--itistheword"black"thatbotherspeopleinthiscountry,andthat’stheirproblem,notmine.”Sincethen,BlackhadbecomemoreandmorepopularbothinAmericansocietyandlife.Suchas,BlackHistoryWeek,BlackCulture,BlackExperience,etc.2.5AfricanAmericanIn1977,SmithermansuggestedthatBlackshouldbereplacedbyAfricanAmericaninherworksaboutAfricanAmericanlanguagestudy.Hersuggestiondidn’tcometrueuntil1989.Thecelebratedscholar,DoctorManningMarablepublishedanarticlecalledAfrican-AmericanorBlack?ThePoliticofCultureIdentifyintheperiodicalofBlackIssuesinHigherEducationinApril,1989.Afterthatthevoiceofchangingnameappearedinsociety.DoctorDorothyHeightplayedanimportantroleinchangingtitleofBlack,aswellasJesseJackson’seloquentspeech.TheappellationofAfricanAmericanbecamemoreandmorefamousinnewspapers,periodicals,TVshows,etc.in1990,MOTOWN(aTVshow)madeaprogrammefortheappellationofAfricanAmerica.Now,especiallyinthesouthofAmerica,peoplealmostdon’tuseBlackbutAfricanAmerican.AfricanAmericanswentthroughalongandbloodywayinordertowinasatisfyingnameinsociety.Alongtheway,theirnameshavebeenchangedseveraltimes.That’sallfortheappellationofAfricanAmerican’stitles.EverytitleshowsthattheirsocialrolesbecamemoreandmoresignificantinAmerica.Itshowsthatsticksandstonesmaybreakmybones,andwordscanalsohurtme.3TheEvolutionofAframericans’RolesinPoliticsandEconomyTherearefourrepresentativesplayedimportantrolesintheevolutionofAfricanAmericans’rolesinPolitics.TheyareAbrahamLincolnwhofightedforthefreedomandequalrightsofAfricanslaves,MartinLutherKing，andBarbaraJordan，BarackObama.Thischapterwillrepresenttheexperienceofthemintheprocessofslippingslavery,fulfillingracialequality,improvingAmericandemocraticsystem.Inaddition,alittleinformationofAfricanAmericans’positivecontributiontotheoverallAmericaneconomywillbegiven.3.1AbrahamLincolnandtheEmancipationProclamationAbrahamLincolnistheonlypresidentinAmericanhistorytoleadanationdividedbycivilwar.AttheheartoftheissuesthatdividedtheSouthfromtheNorthwasslavery.SouthernstateswithdrewfromtheUnionbecausetheysawathreattotheirwayoflife.TheiragriculturaleconomydependedonthelaborofslavesoriginallybroughtfromAfrica.Thestatesthoughtthefederalgovernmentwouldfreetheslaves.SouthCarolinawasthefirsttoleave.ItdidsoshortlyafterLincoln'selectioninNovemberofeighteensixty.SixotherstatesfollowedbythetimehetookofficeinMarchofeighteensixty-one.Inhisinauguralspeech,LincolnbeggedsouthernstatesnottoleavetheUnion.AbrahamLincolndidnotreceiveamajorityofthepopularvoteintheeighteensixtyelection.Buthewonenoughelectoralvotestobecomepresident.LincolnfoughttokeeptheUniontogether.HeledacivilwarinwhichmorethansixhundredthousandAmericanswerekilled.And,inleadingthatwar,hetookthefirststepsthatwoulddestroytheinstitutionofslavery.AtthebeginningoftheCivilWar,Lincoln’smaingoalwasthepreservationoftheUnion.Butasthewarcontinued,thecompleteemancipationoftheslavesbecameanecessity.Fromthebeginningofthewar,BlackshadcomeoverintotheUnionlines.Howtotreatthese“contrabandsofwar”astheywerecalled?TheNortherngeneralsbegantoliberatetheslaves.MeanwhileLincolnedgedtowardemancipation.InMar.1862,heproposedthatfederalcompensationbeofferedtoanystatewhichbegangradualemancipation.OnJuly17,1862,aConfiscationActwaspassed,liberatingtheslavesofallpersonsaidingtherebellion.(Fan,2005)OnJanuary1,1863,LincolnissuedtheEmancipationProclamation.TheProclamationdeclaredfreedomforallslavesintheareasunderConfederatecontrol.Heemphasizedthatthisactionwasbasedonhiswarpowers.TheimmediateeffectoftheEmancipationProclamationdidnotbecomelawuntilJanuary31,1865whenCongressratifiedthe13thAmendmentoftheUSConstitutionwhichcompletelyabolishedslaveryintheUnitedStates.Theproclamation,containing,amongothersthings,thefollowing,towit:“ThatonthefirstdayofJanuary,intheyearofourLordonethousandeighthundredandsixty-three,allpersonsheldasslaveswithinanyStateordesignatedpartofaState,thepeoplewhereofshallthenbeinrebellionagainsttheUnitedStatesshallbethen,thenceforward,andforeverfree;andtheExecutiveGovernmentoftheUnitedStates,includingthemilitaryandnavalauthoritythereof,willrecognizeandmaintainthefreedomofsuchpersonsandwilldonoactoractstorepresssuchpersons,oranyofthem,inanyeffortstheymaymakefortheiractualfreedom.”“Andbyvirtueofthepowerandforthepurposeaforesaid,IdoorderanddeclarethatallpersonsheldasslaveswithinsaiddesignatedStatesandpartsofStatesare,andhenceforwardshallbe,free;andthattheExecutiveGovernmentoftheUnitedStates,includingthemilitaryandnavalauthoritiesthereof,willrecognizeandmaintainthefreedomofsaidpersons.”“Anduponthisact,sincerelybelievedtobeanactofjustice,warrantedbytheConstitutionuponmilitarynecessity,IinvoketheconsideratejudgmentofmankindandthegraciousfavorofAlmightyGod.”Mostwhitesdidnotconsiderblacks--orNegroes,astheycalledthem--tobetheirequal.Lincolnwasnodifferent.Buthebelievedthatslaverywaswrong.Yethethoughtthatslaverywoulddieoutnaturallyovertime--andthatoutsidersshouldnotforcesouthernerstoendslavery.Heexplainedhispositionmanytimesinspeeches,debatesandletters,includingthisonewrittenineighteenfifty-eight:Thedeclarationthat"allmenarecreatedequal"isthegreatfundamentalprincipleuponwhichourfreeinstitutionsrest;thatnegroslaveryisviolativeofthatprinciple;butthat,byourframeofgovernment,thatprinciplehasnotbeenmadeoneoflegalobligation;thatbyourframeofgovernment,thestateswhichhaveslaveryaretoretainit,orsurrenderitattheirownpleasure;andthatallothers—individuals,freestatesandnationalgovernment—areconstitutionallyboundtoleavethemaloneaboutit.

ButLincolnchangedhismind.Somehistoriansthinkthedeathofhiseleven-year-oldsonWilliehadaninfluence.Thepresidentandhiswife,MaryToddLincoln,hadfourchildren,allsons.Threegotsickanddied.Onlyonelivedpasttheageofeighteen.TomSchwartzistheIllinoisstatehistorianandanexpertonAbrahamLincoln.HesaysthepresidentbegantothinkseriouslyaboutthemeaningoflifeafterWilliediedineighteensixty-two.Lincolnneverjoinedachurch,buthebelievedinasupremebeingwhocreatedeverypersonwithapurposeinlife.Afterhisson'sdeath,Lincolndecidedthatoneofhispurposeswastobeanemancipator--tobegintheprocessoffreeingtheslaves.Afewmonthslater,hewrotetheEmancipationProclamation.ManypeoplethinktheEmancipationProclamationfreedtheslaves.Itdidnot.ItonlydeclaredslavesintheConfederacytobefree.Inotherwords,onlyslavesinthesouthernstatesthatdidnotrecognizeLincolnaspresident.LincolnreadthefirstdraftofthedocumenttohiscabinetinJulyofeighteensixty-two,fivemonthsafterWillie'sdeath.

AnewstageplayhasbeenwrittenaboutthosefivemonthsinLincoln'slife."TheHeavensAreHungInBlack"byJamesStillisthefirstplaybeingpresentedinthenewlyredecoratedFord'sTheatreinWashington,D.C.ThatisthesametheaterwherePresidentLincolnwasshotineighteensixty-five.HistorianssaythatbywritingtheEmancipationProclamation,Lincolnestablishedamoralpurposeforthewar.NolongerwasthepurposesimplytobringthesouthernstatesbackintotheUnion.Nowhisdeclarationmadefreeingtheslavesalong-termgoaloftheconflict.ItputtheConfederatestatesinthepositionoffightingforslavery--eventhoughmostofthesoldiersweretoopoortoownslaves.AnditincreasedthemilitarystrengthoftheUnionbymakingitpossibleforfreeblackstoserveinthenorthernarmy.PoliticalopponentsandthepresscriticizedactionstakenbyPresidentLincoln.TheFirstAmendmenttotheConstitutionguaranteesfreespeechandafreepress.YetLincolnbrieflyclosedsomenewspapers.Anotheractionthathetookwastosuspendtherightofhabeascorpus.Habeascorpusisalegaltermfortherighttohaveajudgedecideifapersonisbeingdetainedlawfully.Therequestismadetothecourtinawrittendocumentcalledawrit.TheConstitution,insettinglimitsonCongress,saysinArticleOne:"TheprivilegeoftheWritofHabeasCorpusshallnotbesuspended,unlesswheninCasesofRebellionorInvasionthepublicSafetymayrequireit."Suspendinghabeascorpusmeansthataprisonercanbeheldwithouttrialforaslongasthegovernmentwants.AbrahamLincolnorhiscabinetofficerssuspendedthatrightseveraltimes.TheybelievedtheywereactingwithintheConstitution.PresidentLincolnknewthathewouldbecriticizedforissuingsuchorderswithoutwaitingforcongressionalapproval.Yethehimselfwasnotsurewhatpowershehadinmanysituations.Americanhistorycouldoffernoguide.Afterall,thecountryhadneverbeforehadacivilwar.YetAbrahamLincolnisoftencalledAmerica'sgreatestpresident.HeisrememberedasthemanwhosavedtheUnionandre-inventeditatthesametime.Byincludingblacks,Lincolnexpanded"thebordersoffreedom,"sayshistorianTomSchwartz.Lincolnhimselfsaidhispurposewastoprovide"anopenfieldandafairchanceinlife."Hesucceededinbeginningthatprocess,thoughblackAmericansdidnotgainfullcivilrightsuntilthenineteensixties.AbrahamLincolnwasthefirstpresidentialcandidateofthemodernRepublicanParty.Heincludedpoliticalopponentsinhiscabinet,whichisunusual.DorisKearnsGoodwinwroteaboutthisinhertwothousandfivebooks"TeamofRivals:ThePoliticalGeniusofAbrahamLincoln."LincolnwastheleadingforcebehindtheThirteenthAmendmentwhichofficiallyendedslaveryintheUnitedStates.ItbecamelawinDecemberofeighteensixty-five.Bythen,Lincolnwasdead.OnApril14th,1865,SouthernsympathizerandactorJohnWilkesBoothshotLincolninFord'sTheatre.IthappenedfivedaysaftertheSouthsurrenderedandtheCivilWarended.Notsurpris