As President, he declared
for the preservation of the Union, with or without slavery, or even
upon the terms which he had previously declared irreconcilable, "half
slave and half free." The Negro slave saw in the outbreak of the war
the death struggle of slavery. He knew that the real issue was
slavery.
The masters were careful to keep from the knowledge of the slave the
events as well as the causes of the war, but in spite of these efforts
the slave's keen perception enabled him to read defeat in the dejected
mien of his master, and victory in his exultation. To prevent the
master's knowing what was going on in their thoughts, the slaves
constructed curious codes among themselves. In one neighborhood
freedom was always spoken of as "New Rice"; and many a poor slave
woman sighed for the coming of New Rice in the hearing of those who
imagined they knew the inmost thoughts of their bondwomen. Gleefully
at times they would talk of the jollification they would make when the
New Rice came. It was this clear vision, this strong hope, that
sustained them during the trying days of the war and kept them back
from insurrection. Bishop Gaines says: "Their prayers ascended for
their deliverance, and their hearts yearned for the success of their
friends. They fondly hoped for the hour of victory, when the night of
slavery would end and the dawn of freedom appear.
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