Lincoln and the War Against Slavery, 1863–1865

Even with emancipation firmly in view as a goal of ending the civil war, Lincoln had to struggle against unsuccessful and even uncooperative generals and officers, and against public opinion which was inflamed by the sensational arrests of prominent anti-war democratic dissidents. Through 1863, his public utterances and writings were aimed at explaining the overall object of the war and justifying actions he had taken to pursue that object. Nevertheless, he was willing to listen to peace overtures, and even to meet with commissioners from the confederacy. But there were moments of discouragement, particularly when it seemed that he might not gain re-election to the presidency. Those fears were largely dispelled by the military successes of Ulysses s. Grant, and Lincoln was able to proceed to a triumphant conclusion of the military campaigns in 1865.