Emancipation Proclamation Analysis

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An analysis of these two U.S seminal documents shows the similarities and differences involved in these to important issues and orders given by the president. The emancipation proclamation was an executive order issued by President Lincoln in 1863 it changed the federal legal status of more than 3 million enslaved people. They carefully framed the conflict as concerning the preservation of the Union rather than the abolition of slavery. He knew nobody would accept this offer northerners or slave boarders would. On September 22nd soon after the Union victory at Antietam, he issued an emancipation proclamation declaring that as of January 1st 1863 all slaves in the rebellious states "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free" although the …show more content…

The difficulties of the proclamation of neutrality was with the war of between Britain and France and with the U.S supporting the France, Britain began to seize U.S cargoes and ships, especially in the French West Indies. The U.S felt as if the seizures were illegal and claimed the right to trade with all warring parties, but in this case both France and Britain (invoking one stand of international law) held “free ships make free goods”. The British government embraced competing, narrower definition that permitted greater latitude in the seizures of the cargoes of neutral ships. One of the main problems though was that the American population, with still enthusiastically supported France’s experiment, was extremely upset and begin to prepare for war. Washington understood how the people felt but believed if they went to war they would suffer greatly so he decided to order the proclamation of neutrality not allowing people to support others in war to keep the republic out of harm’s way. In the end both of these documents come o tot be very similar in many ways but if you don’t begin to look closely and unfold them you won’t realize how different they really

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