try viewing the EP as you would a will that has not been probated. The bequest is there for you to receive as soon as the court probates the will and gets control of the property. Every mile that that the United States Army moved can be seen as an act of the probate court, delivering the bequest to millions of slaves. In addition, as noted below, it encouraged slaves to meet the army half way by running to the US Army. Who freed the slaves: General Benjamin Butler with his brilliant concept of contraband; Lincoln with the EP; Grand and Sherman and their armies by delivering the EP; the slaves themselves who ran to the US Army lines; and finally the Congress and States through the 13th Amendment. It was a great collaboration, that led to almost 4,000,000 people getting their freedom. Virginia had the most slaves when the war began; perhaps it makes sense that the elite of VA and their great grand children don't like Lincoln. He, and his generals, and his allies in Congress, took their slaves from them and made them free people. And futhermore encouraged their slaves to run away. Horrible. Paul Finkelman President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy Albany Law School 80 New Scotland Avenue Albany, New York 12208-3494 518-445-3386 [log in to unmask] >>> [log in to unmask] 02/14/07 6:06 PM >>> Mr. Forest is right about the Emancipation of Proclamation: Lincoln was not a position to positively free the slaves. However, by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, thousands and thousands of African-Americans were able to emancipate themselves, fleeing bondage and making there way to the safety of federal lines. This may have been part of Lincoln's intent; by encouraging slaves to free themselves, Confederate military strength was diverted from the front lines to the home front. >>> Basil Forest <[log in to unmask]> 02/14/07 David Kiracofe David Kiracofe History Tidewater Community College Chesapeake Campus 1428 Cedar Road Chesapeake, Virginia 23322 757-822-5136 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html