The Emancipation Proclamation was an enormous incentive for the Union’s victory in The Civil War because it freed slaves to be put in the Union army, which was an advantage for the Union victory. It was also the most important aspect of Lincoln’s legacy. The proclamation was important to history because it paved the way for the abolition of slavery in the United States. “Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd 1862. The document states that if the states in the rebellion didn’t cease, the proclamation would go into effect” (10 Facts). When the rebellious states decided not to, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation on January 1st, 1863. The proclamation only applied to the states in rebellion. In fact, the proclamation declared, “that all persons held as slaves, within the rebellious, are and henceforth shall be freed” (The Emancipation Proclamation). During the war, the Southern states used the slaves to support their armies in the field and to manage the home front. Lincoln justified the proclamation as a war measure intended to cripple the Confederates use of slaves in war. The book, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End Of Slavery in America, says “No single official paper in American history changed the lives of as many Americans as Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. But no American document has been held up to greater suspicion” (Guelzo 12). When Lincoln first proposed the Proclamation to his cabinet members, they didn’t support it; Lincoln’s advisors believed it to be too radical. However, regardless of what his advisors said, Lincoln still stood behind the proclamation. For example, Lincoln wrote a letter to James Conkling regarding his views on the proclamation, he sai... ... middle of paper ... ...it led the way to the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States. All together the Emancipation Proclamation helped the Union’s victory in the Civil war and was a critical step in abolishing slavery in the United States, changing America forever. Works Cited “10 Facts about the Emancipation Proclamation.” Civil War Trust. BBB. 2013. 2 February 2014 Carpenter, F.B. “First Reading of the Proclamation” 1886. Library of Congress. web. 2 February 2014 “Emancipation Proclamation” National Archives. U.S National Archives and Record Administration. 2012. 13 April 2014. Guelzo, Allen. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End Of Slavery in America. Simon and Schuster. 2004. Media. Pruitt, Sarah “5 Things You May Not Know About Lincoln, Slavery, and Emancipation” History. Readers Companion to American History. 2012. web. 30 October 2013.
Abraham Lincoln is known as the President who helped to free the slaves, lead the Union to victory over the confederates in the American Civil War, preserve the union of the United States and modernize the economy. The Emancipation Proclamation, issued through Presidential constitutional authority on January 1st, 1863, declared that all slaves in the ten remaining slave states were to be liberated and remain liberated. The Emancipation Proclamation freed between three and four million slaves, however, since it was a Presidential constitutional authority and not though congress, the Emancipation Proclamation failed to free slaves in Border States like Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. Essentially, states that were under Federal Government and loyal to the Union did not have their slaves liberated; Lincoln even stating “When it took effect in January 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation freed 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves.” Some argue Lincoln issued this Proclamation in an attempt to satisfy the demands of Radical Republicans, members of a group within the Republican Party. Radical Republicans were a group of politicians who strongly...
Abraham Lincoln’s original views on slavery were formed through the way he was raised and the American customs of the period. Throughout Lincoln’s influential years, slavery was a recognized and a legal institution in the United States of America. Even though Lincoln began his career by declaring that he was “anti-slavery,” he was not likely to agree to instant emancipation. However, although Lincoln did not begin as a radical anti-slavery Republican, he eventually issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves and in his last speech, even recommended extending voting to blacks. Although Lincoln’s feeling about blacks and slavery was quite constant over time, the evidence found between his debate with Stephen A. Douglas and his Gettysburg Address, proves that his political position and actions towards slavery have changed profoundly.
Weatherman, Donald V. "James Buchanan on Slavery and Secession." Presidential Studies Quarterly Fall 15.4, Perspectives on the Presidency (1985): 796-805. JSTOR. Web. 14 May 2014.
As a child in elementary and high school, I was taught that President Abraham Lincoln was the reason that African slaves were freed from slavery. My teachers did not provide much more information than that. For an African American student, I should have received further historical information than that about my ancestors. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity or desire to research slavery on my own until college. And with my eagerness and thirst for more answers concerning my African American history, I set out to console my spirit, knowledge, and self-awareness of my ancestors’ history. I received the answers that my brain, mind, and soul need. Although Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution, courageous African American slaves were the real heroes and motivation of the movement.
Altman, Linda Jacobs. Slavery and Abolition in American History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 1999. Print.
The drive to end slavery in the United States was a long one, from being debated in the writing of the Declaration of Independence, to exposure of its ills in literature, from rebellions of slaves, to the efforts of people like Harriet Tubman to transport escaping slaves along the Underground Railroad. Abolitionists had urged President Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves in the Confederate states from the very outset of the Civil War. By mid-1862, Lincoln had become increasingly convinced of the moral imperative to end slavery, but he hesitated (History.com). As commander-in-chief of the Union Army, he had military objectives to consider (History.com). On one hand, emancipation might
Micheal P. Jhonson Abraham Linclon, Slavery, and the Civil war, Selected Writing and Speeches ( New York. University of Pennsylvania , 2001)
Lincoln, Abraham. The Emancipation Proclamation. U.S. National Archives & Records Administaration. Web. 05 Dec. 2009.
It was a delicate balancing act because it defined the war as a war against slavery, not the war between the northern and southern people, and at the same time, it protected Lincoln’s position with conservatives, and there was no turning back. Thousands of slaves had “voted with their feet” for emancipation; blacks and their white allies celebrated with praise songs. Another piece of evidence, the Thirteenth Amendment, proved that Lincoln deserved the title “The Great Emancipator”. Lincoln came to see black soldiers as “the great available and yet unavailable force for restoring the Union”. African American people helped secure equal rights for their people.
At this point of time of the war; in 1862/1863 the Union army was losing against the Confederacy; the Confederacy was leading the war. The number of Union’s casualties was twice the number of the Confederacy’s casualties. Lincoln waited to issue the proclamation because when announcing out loud his first draft, his cabinet suggested him to wait so that it would not be seen as a desperate act. That is why, in September 17, 1862, when the Union army won the battle of Antietam that 5 days later, Lincoln said that if the Confederacy army has not surrender by the New Year, all slaves in the Southern states would be free. Different opinions over the cause and impact of the proclamation can be found in political cartoons. In a cartoon by John Tenniel, it shows that the Emancipation Proclamation was seen as an act of desperation and was his “last card to play to win the war” . The purpose of this cartoon, drawn in 1862 is controversial as to what Lincoln wanted initially, when he issued his em...
During the Abraham Lincoln’s short time as president, he managed not only to save a nation deeply divided and at war with itself, but to solidify the United States of America as a nation dedicated to the progress of civil rights. Years after his death, he was awarded the title of ‘The Great Emancipator.’ In this paper, I will examine many different aspects of Lincoln’s presidency in order to come to a conclusion: whether this title bestowed unto Lincoln was deserved, or not. In order to fully understand Lincoln, it is necessary to understand the motives that drove this man to action. While some of his intentions may not have been for the welfare of slaves, but for the preservation of the Union, the actions still stand. Abraham Lincoln, though motivated by his devotion to his nation, made the first blows against the institution of slavery and rightfully earned his title of ‘The Great Emancipator.’
Lincoln 's view on slavery was that he was highly against it. Lincoln is known as an abolitionists; someone who doesn 't agree with slavery. He supported the 13th Amendment simply because it would put an end to all slavery in the United States. Lincoln would often give speeches to the public about how he was against slavery. His words were, "Resolutions upon the subject of domestic slavery having passed both branches of the General Assembly at it 's present session, the undersigned hereby protest against the passage of the same." What Lincoln was saying is that problems of slavery have not been resolved they have just been ignored. The skaves protest that they don 't feel they should be ignored or their issues. Lincoln 's cabinet also had their own opinionated views about Lincolns decision on the Proclamation. The opinions from the cabinet were mixed, meaning none were the same or a few were the same but not ever all the same. "William H. Seward convinced Lincoln to wait to issue the Proclamation until after a Union military got a victory." The Union got that victory on September 17, 1862 at the Battle of
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation; as the country headed toward the third year of the civil war. This proclamation stated: “that all persons held as slaves are, and hence forward shall be free,” however this only applied to the states that were no longer part of the union, leaving slavery untouched in other states. However the Emancipation Proclamation was needed to benefit African Americans.
When the Civil War was approaching its third year, United States President Abraham Lincoln was able to make the slaves that were in Confederate states that were still in rebellion against the Union forever free. Document A states that on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and that every enslaved person residing in the states that were “In rebellion against the United States” were free and that the Executive Government of the United States and that the military and naval authority were to recognize them and could not act against them at all. Although the Proclamation did not free every slave in the Confederacy, it was able to release about 3.5 million slaves. Along with freeing all of those slaves, it also stated that African American men were allowed to enlist with the Union and aid them in the war.
Johnson, Michael, and Allen C. Guelzo. “Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America.” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. Michigan Publishing, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.