Analysis Of Eric Foner's The Fiery Trial

In the Fiery Trial, Eric Foner argues that it is imperative for Abraham Lincoln to focus on slavery in the four boarder slave states that remain in the union. Foner deduces his argument from an editorial published on December 4th, 1861 in the New York Herald. The editorial provides an analysis of Mr. Lincoln’s message to Congress. It is interesting to note that this paper’s constituency is far from any boarder state conflict, yet of all the topics posed by Lincoln in his address to congress, they choose to focus on the contraband issue in boarder states. Thus, this provides evidence to support the notion that this is not just a regional issue but a national one too.
Foner and the editorial agree that the Contraband Act placed a tremendous