Great Emancipator

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Great Emancipator is a term often used to describe President Abraham Lincoln for his issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation and for his struggle against the Confederacy during the United States Civil War; which ultimately freed the enslaved African American population in the Southern states.

Recently, this term has been criticized due to Lincoln's supposed racism, his usage of the word nigger and for his stating "I will say then, that I am not, nor have ever been, in favor of bringing about in any way, the social and political equality of the white and black races" during the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates. [1]

Several of Lincoln's detractors, such as the noted scholar and historian Lerone Bennett, Jr., have asserted that Lincoln purposely worded the Emancipation Proclamation so that no African Americans were freed (i.e. "within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States." - which, affected the areas that were in rebellion, and hence, not affected by the Proclamation, whereas slaves in areas still tied to the Union were still enslaved.)

However, many also negate such criticisms of Lincoln, as Bennett's controversial text Forced into Glory has been banned by several literary circles^{[citation needed]}. Many also note that such criticism do not take into account that the word nigger was used widely and arguably acceptable during Lincoln's era.

[edit] Other usages

The term "Emancipator" is also used for historical figures such as Alexander II of Russia for their role in liberating oppressed or enslaved individuals.