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Emancipation proclamation consequences
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One of the most important things that President Abraham Lincoln did while in office occurred on January 1st, 1863. On this date Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation as the country was coming up on its third year of the civil war. The main purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation was to free slaves in those states that were still in rebellion against the United States of America. This declaration marked the freeing of over 3 million black slaves all over the United States. This Proclamation also redirects the primary focus of the Civil War from preserving the Union to a major fight against slavery. Known as the savior of the Union, President Lincoln actually considered the Emancipation Proclamation to be the most important detail of his legacy. “I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper,” he stated. “If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it." Its obvious that Lincoln put his whole heart into this act to stop slavery.
As the United States was coming up on the
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beginning of the Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, President Lincoln's focus was to restore the union rather than attempting to end the act of slavery. Lincoln did however find the practice of slavery disgusting and not socially correct. The reason he did not make slavery the main focus of the war was because knew that the northerners as well as the people living in the border slave states would not support this idea as the main goal for the war. However, by the middle of 1862 thousands and thousands of slaves were escaping to join the Northern armies. This was a major key to Abraham Lincoln that the main focus should be shifted. As these thousands of slaves were escaping Lincoln decided that abolition has become the main military goal and the correct path to take. This is when Lincoln issued the proclamation saying that as of January 1st, 1863, this will take place: "And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons." This is saying that from now on all slaves will be freed. Many people believe that the Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave all. Even if that is true, it was a major turning point in the war, reshaping the fight to protect the nation into the battle for human freedom. It is important that we know Lincolns stand on slavery first. He did change his view point on slavery a few times before the declared freedom for all slaves. Years prior, in the 1850s Lincoln said that slavery was "an unqualified evil to the negro, the white man, and the State." This means that Lincoln was against slavery and did not think it was the correct thing to do. Lincoln also said in a letter to Joshua Speed that "You know I dislike slavery; and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it." At this time President Lincoln is clearly against the act of slavery. However, in Lincoln's very first inaugural speech he said that he had "no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with slavery in the States where it exists." Meaning that if slavery already existed in a particular state that he wasn't going to make an effort to end it. On July 4th, 1861, Lincoln restated this idea at his first message to the congress. Many people do not understand how he went from being completely against slavery to not attempting to put an end to it. As an individual person, Lincoln was totally against and hated slavery, but as a republican Lincoln wanted to exclude slavery from the territories as the first step to putting the institution in the course of ultimate extinction. However, as a president Lincoln had to follow the words of the constitution which stated that slavery was allowed in any state where the citizens wished for it. One of Lincoln's worries was that the border slave states as well as the northern democrats would not support his idea to demolish slavery. These two areas would have most likely turned against the war and made a move against slavery in 1861. In 1862 many of the Republicans had become convinced that the war against the slaveholders rebellion must shift its focus to pure slavery rather than conserving the Union. The Republicans put considerable amounts of pressure on Abraham Lincoln to finally issue the Emancipation Proclamation. As the President of the United States, Lincoln felt as if he was forced to balance the convictions against the risks of alienating half of the Union. By the summer of 1862, it was obvious that Lincoln would definitely risk alienating the republican half if he did not fight hard against slavery. The war started to go down hill for the Union as they were failing to succeed. In the early months of 1862 the military had several proud victories but the Northern armies began to suffer as July came along. The common argument being that the Emancipation was a military need started to become highly convincing. Eventually it would weaken the confederacy as well as strengthen the Union by conveying part of the Southern labor force and adding this great amount of military to the Northern side. By July of 1862 the Congress released two laws to go along with this. One being a second confiscation act that freed slaves of those who had interacted in the rebellion against the United States. The other being a militia act that gave the president the power to use freed slaves in the military in whatever way he wished. He could even use these freed slaves as soldiers if he thought they fit the spot. Now as some times passed, Lincoln had the idea of an even bigger measure. It was a proclamation that freed all slaves in states that were waging war against the Nation. Lincoln told one of his advisors that the Emancipation had become "A military necessity. We must free the slaves or be ourselves subdued. The Administration must set an example, and strike at the heart of the rebellion." The advisor did agree, however, the Secretary of State William H. Seward had persuaded Lincoln to hold back the proclamation until a key Union military victory occurs so that it can give the proclamation added force. President Lincoln used this hold up to gather a strong opinion for what was ahead. Lincoln wrote a letter to journalist Horace Greeley, which was published on August 22, 1862, reiterating that his "supreme object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save nor destroy slavery." Lincoln has also said that if he could accomplish this by all, some, or none of the innocent slaves that is what he would do. In this letter he specifically said that "I am a little uneasy about the abolishment of slavery in this District, not but I would be glad to see it abolished, but as to the time and manner of doing it." Meaning that he was a little worrisome going into this situation. Lincoln had already freed some slaves and went ahead and gave warning to prospective opponents of the Emancipation Proclamation that they have to accept this as a mandatory measure to save the Union. Also in 1862 President Lincoln held a public meeting with black citizens living in Washington urging them to contemplate emigrating over seas to escape the preconceptions that they have previously encountered as well as to help the conservatives that the highly dreaded racial repercussions of the Emancipation Proclamation will become less severe. Around September of 1862 was when the main goal really shifted to slavery. About one month later, after the Union's victory in the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln had the prefect opportunity and declared a preparatory proclamation stating that all the states that are still in rebellion on January 1st, 1863 must proclaim their slaves as free.
Once January 1st of 1863 approached the final Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves will be free, however, this proclamation excluded the three Confederate states as well as the border slave states which had slaveholders but stayed loyal to Union and did not rebel. Before the official proclamation was released, President Lincoln had tried to multiple times to convince the border states to accept emancipation but they refused and did not budge. It was obvious that Lincoln was not afraid to speak about his hatred for slavery as he said "I have always hated slavery, I think as much as any Abolitionist." at a speech in
Chicago. The Proclamation did not just free slaves but it also recruited an enormous amount of black military units that contributed to many of the Union's forces. Approximately 180,000 African Americans went to serve in the army as about 18,000 put their time into the navy. About 40,000 African American soldiers died during the war. Over 30,000 of the deaths were caused by infection or diseases. Because of prejudgment against them, black soldiers were not used in combat as broadly as they could have been. Most of these African American soldiers served in artillery and infantry and participated in all of the noncombat roles that are needed to sustain a strong army. Black carpenters, cooks, guards, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters contributed to the war just as much as the soldiers did. There were approximately 80 black employed officers. Not only were the men apart of the war but so were black women who could not serve in the war. These women took the roles as nurses, spies, and scouts. By the end of the war 16 African American soldiers were awarded with the Medal of Honor for their well appreciated bravery. No only did these black soldiers have to fight the tremendous dangers that come with war, but they also had to face the problems with racial prejudice. Racial discrimination was prevailing all over, even in the North. Even though slavery was coming to an end, blacks were not treated the same as whites. Black soldiers were originally paid $10 each month and $3 were automatically taken out for clothing, giving them a total of $7. On the other hand, white soldiers were given $13 with no amount taken out. Finally in June of 1864 the Congress recognized equal pay to all of the United States colored troops. However, the African American soldiers faced a greater danger over the whites did when they were captured by they Confederate Army. By 1863 the Confederate Congress threatened to discipline officers of black troops and to enslave black soldiers. This resulted in Lincoln issuing the General Order 233 which threatened retaliation on Confederate prisoners of war for any type of wrong doing of black troops. African American soldiers were generally treated more harshly than the white soldiers. An example of this is when many Confederate soldiers shot African American Union soldiers to death who were captured at the Fort Pillow, TN, in 1864. To make it even worse, Confederate General Nathan Forrest witnessed this entire incident and chose to do nothing about it. Just because slavery was ending, does not mean that the African Americans felt the same as the whites did. Even though many people believe that the Emancipation Proclamation didn't free a single slave, it was still a major turning point in the Civil War. Lincoln released this Proclamation in hope of freeing millions of slaves as well as recruit African Americans into the war. President Abraham Lincoln felt as if this was one of his most successful accomplishments in office.
Abraham Lincoln became the United States' 16th President in 1861, delivering the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy in 1863. If there is a part of the United States history that best characterizes it, it is the interminable fight for the Civil Rights. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. The Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal”. Even when the Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, and the black people embraced education, built their own churches, reunited with their broken families and worked very hard in the sharecropping system, nothing was enough for the Reconstruction to succeed.
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...
Lincoln became president in January of 1860. During this time, many of the Southern states began to secede, plunging the United States into a Civil War. At the beginning, the war was about state’s rights, but it eventually became about slave rights. In the end, the Union won, America was reunited, and the slaves were freed. Many say that Lincoln was the Great Emancipator because of this act, but did you know he didn’t want the freed slaves to have the same rights as whites? From the time he was involved in the political realm to the day he was assassinated Lincoln was just another politician. If he was really the Great Emancipator he would have been more focused on the slaves than the Union. He also wouldn’t have issued the Emancipation
Abraham Lincoln’s greatest challenge during his presidency was preserving the Union during the Civil War after the Southern states seceded from the Union. There were many dividing issues in the U.S. before his election in 1860, and his presidential victory was the final straw that led to the Civil War. The North and the South were already separating due to regional differences, socially, politically, culturally, and economically. Slavery was one of the biggest factors that led to the division between the North and the South. Preserving the Union while half of the country refused to regard federal law while in secession was extremely challenging, yet Abraham Lincoln decided to fight war against the South not only for the sake of abolishing slavery, but most importantly for the sake of preserving the Union. He was dedicated to fighting for the equality of all men in the U.S., as mentioned in his famous Gettysburg Address: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." He used this to argue a basic point: if all men are created equal, then all men are free. His House Divided speech showed his determination to keep the...
One of Lincoln’s most famous quotes is “A House divided against itself cannot stand.” This describes his presidency well- focusing on maintaining the Union. In the beginning, Lincoln tried to stay out of sensitive affairs involving the North and South in an attempt to keep them together, promising the South little interference. Despite this, he played a key role in passing the Thirteenth Amendment, doing whatever it takes to end slavery for good and ending the Civil War.
Lincoln declared that “all persons held as slaves” in areas in rebellion “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” Not only liberate slaves in the border slave states, but the President has purposely made the proclamation in all places in the South where the slaves were existed. While the Emancipation Proclamation was an important turning point in the war. It transformed the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom. According the history book “A People and a Nation”, the Emancipation Proclamation was legally an ambiguous document, but as a moral and political document it had great meaning. It was a delicate balancing act because it defined the war as a war against slavery, not the war from northern and southern people, and at the same time, it protected Lincoln’s position with conservatives, and there was no turning
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 during the civil war, as main goal to win the war. Some historians argued that it was based on feelings towards slaves because not only it freed slaves in the South; it was also a huge step for the real abolition of slavery in the United States. While other historians argued that it was a military tactic because it strengthened the Union army, because the emancipated slaves were joining the Union thus providing a larger manpower than the Confederacy . The Emancipation Proclamation emancipated slaves only in the Confederacy and did not apply to the Border-states and the Union states.
In a speech that Lincoln gave prior to his presidency, we can see how ambiguous his stance on slavery truly was. This speech, known as the ‘House Divided’ speech, was given on the 16th of June, 1858, and outlined his beliefs regarding secession, but did not solidify the abolition of slavery as his main goal. Lincoln states that the nation “could not endure, permanently half slave and half free,” and that the slavery will either cease to exist, or will encompass all states lawfully (Lincoln). At this point in his life, Lincoln’s primary concern is clearly with the preservation of the nation.
President Lincoln has had numerous achievements, such as ending slavery, modernizing the economy, and preserving the Union. Lincoln is famously known for ending slavery. He issued the Emancipation of Proclamation. The presidential proclamation was issued during the American Civil War. Lincoln stated in his speech, "I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of states, and henceforward shall be free."
Lincoln 's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, was to up the North 's support so they wouldn 't go to the confederate side. Not only a change in North war, but a change in the slavery, like granting the slaves their freedom so they wouldn 't have any more slave revolts which would cause even more chaos in other words another war. "The Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to the slaves in the Confederate states if the states did not return to the Union by January 1,1863. In addition, under the proclamation, freedom would only come to the slaves if the Union won the war." Abraham Lincoln president at the time, the northerners also known as the Union, the south also known as the confederates, and slave states still in
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.
The issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the passage of the 13th amendment are two of Lincoln’s most influential documents enacted during his presidency. The Emancipation Proclamation “...declared over three million slaves in the rebel states of the Confederacy to be ‘thenceforward and forever free’...”(Guelzo). This action eventually took the country to the final abolition of slavery when the 13th amendment was introduced, declaring: “Neither slavery
Abraham Lincoln and Slavery Many Americans believe that Abraham Lincoln was the “Great Emancipator,” the sole individual who ended slavery, and the man who epitomizes freedom. In his brief presidential term, Lincoln dealt with an unstable nation, with the South seceding from the country and in brink of leaving permanently.
Abraham Lincoln is regarded by many Americans as the greatest president to ever hold office in the history of the United States, and his reputation is definitely well deserved. Lincoln wasn't scared to stand up and fight for what he knew was right. He was convinced that within the branches of government, the presidency alone was empowered not only to uphold the Constitution, but also to protect, and defend it. Lincoln was able to lead our country and preserve the Union, keeping the United States from splintering during the devastating times of the Civil War. As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization, and he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that changed the war into a battle for freedom and declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy. That November, Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address, which stated how a country must be dedicated to human freedom in order to survive. He dedicated the battlefield to the soldiers who had perished, and called on the living to finish the task the dead soldiers had begun. (Donald, 1995) Lincoln believed that democracy could be a lasting form of government. He showed a nobility of character that had worldwide appeal, and he was a man of great integrity. However, Lincoln was not only the 16th president of the United States, he was an American hero. Lincoln was a well-rounded individual and he had numerous outstanding qualities. However, it is important to remember that Lincoln also led a private life, complete with close friends and family.
The "Emancipation Proclamation" speech was actually intended for most of the people that would free the slaves, not to the slaves. According to Rollyson the proclamation was not intended for the slave, blacks, or former slaves. The “Emancipation Proclamation” speech was during the Antislavery Movement or what some people call it the Abolitionist Movement, during the 1960's. The main leaders of the abolitionist movement were Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas. The point of Lincoln writing the speech about emancipating the slaves was to free the slaves and win the civil war. Lincoln had written a speech named "The Emancipation Proclamation". He wrote this speech and signed it in January of 1863, in Washington, D.C. The theme of the speech was to teach everyone that everyone, no matter what race should be treated equally. In the "Emancipation Proclamation" speech, Abraham Lincoln motivates his intended audience during the Antislavery movement by using pathos and rhetorical question.