This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of Major-General Patrick R. Cleburne's plan for the Confederacy to train a large reserve of slaves to become soldiers, the initial rejection, then subsequent acceptance of this proposal, which triggered a wide-ranging public dispute that dominated political life during the Confederacy's final six months of existence. The objectives of the book are then described, namely the analysis of Southern arm-and-emancipate proposals, their origins and justifications, the objections and resistance that they provoked, the final form they took, and...

This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of Major-General Patrick R. Cleburne's plan for the Confederacy to train a large reserve of slaves to become soldiers, the initial rejection, then subsequent acceptance of this proposal, which triggered a wide-ranging public dispute that dominated political life during the Confederacy's final six months of existence. The objectives of the book are then described, namely the analysis of Southern arm-and-emancipate proposals, their origins and justifications, the objections and resistance that they provoked, the final form they took, and the practical results that they produced. An overview of the chapters included in this volume is presented.