Freedom

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Freedom is a historical novel by American essayist William Safire, set in the early years of the American Civil War. It concludes with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.
The novel shows how its main characters grapple with the dilemmas of political morality raised by secession and war. A particular focus is the challenge of reconciling individual rights and liberties with preserving the nation when its existence is threatened. The novel shows how this process of wrestling with moral dilemmas in the political setting led, step by step, to the Emancipation Proclamation.
As compared with other historical novels, Freedom is unusual in the volume of detail provided about its sources by the author. In a lengthy appendix, or "underbook" as Safire refers to it, he goes through the novel chapter by chapter, and in some cases line by line, distinguishing fact from fiction, citing his source materials, and weighing the arguments on both sides of various historical controversies.