Decisions On The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 During the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln had many decisions that he had to make, but the Emancipation Proclamation was the most important decision during his presidency. The Proclamation would abolish slavery only in states of rebellion and make tens of thousands of slaves in those states free and recruit them into the union army. In the making of the proclamation, Lincoln feared that it would push the loyal border states to the confederacy. Also many questioned if the Emancipation Proclamation was going to be Constitutional. Even with those who fear it, Lincoln pushed forward, and justified that it was not only a matter of military necessity but as an act of justice. The decisions that he had …show more content…
On the month of September 17, 1862 had won a battle with help of Ulysses S. Grant, a general that would shaped the Union's army into a more strategic military. The winning of the Battle of Antietam was a turning point for Union both militarily and politically. One month later, President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation to help the Union win the war and start the abolishment of slavery. The proclamation stated that the slaves in the rebellion states are now “forever free”. It lets the government and military forces of the U.S. to free the slaves “as an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity”. The border states that were not loyal to the Union were Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Tennessee, Indian Territory, and Kansas which are all states that refused to freed the slaves that were in those states. Most southern states depended on slaves especially for soldiers during the war or for making railroads and supplies for other soldiers. The proclamation clearly states that they were free, it also commissioned the recruitment of the freed slaves and free blacks as Union soldiers. Through the next two and half
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...
First, Emancipation Proclamation pronounced that freed slaves could be enlisted in the Union Army, so that Union Army can increase their manpower through Black recruitment. It is strategically very important to subdue the opposition force. Lincoln knew the weakness of the confederate army, and their lack of resources. The Emancipation allowed many Black people to join the Union army, which was strategically significant idea; however, the Proclamation did not actually free the slaves in the Union states. The Proclamation extended the goal of
It did not have immediate freeing action, but the theory furthered his idea that human bondage was immoral and that blacks deserved equal economic opportunities but not political rights. The fate of the proclamation rested in Republican political success and Union military victories. After turning the nation towards total war, Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg marked a major military, political, and democratic turning point. The overall war victory had been associated with the prevention of the expansion of slavery and led to the creation of the thirteenth amendment abolishing slavery. Lincoln had, however, appealed to the south on more peaceful terms- after claiming secession illegal and reasoning that he wanted to prevent the spread of slavery to protect the union, he gave the choice of rebellion or obedience to the south, giving them opportunities like the ten percent plan to rejoin under oath, as well. During the war, the confiscation act of 1861 provided legal status to the influx of black refugees in the north, calling them contrabands, while emancipation gave them the right to enlist and be recognized as a
The Emancipation Proclamation greatly affected the Civil War. It helped pave the way for the Union to win the War. But, this great declaration of independence did have some holes. Historians throughout history have thought many things about the Emancipation Proclamation. Many of the historian’s thoughts proved that Lincoln had a greater reason than to “free the slaves.” With this document, he planned to win the war for the Union army.
As the war progressed, it seemed like a bold move for Abraham Lincoln to emancipate slaves because the South depended on slaves, and it was overall for the betterment of America. The issue of slavery separating the government into two sides was not effective for America. He was trying to prevent future generations of representatives from arguing over this issue, because it does not help the country get better. The North knew that during the war it would not matter, but they disconnected the South to its economic catalyst. He was named ‘The Great Emancipator’ because of the actions he took in office. He did not have just the emancipation of slaves, but he emancipated the country from the arguing and segregation that slavery bought.
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.
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
Abraham Lincoln once said, “I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me” (“Letter to Albert G. Hodges” 281 as qtd. in R.J. Norton 1). In accordance with his quote, when President Lincoln issued the unprecedented Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, Lincoln freed slaves in the Southern states, but he and his actions were being controlled by Civil War. The Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865 between the Northern states, or the Union, and the Southern states, or the Confederacy. On September 22, 1862, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln put forth a Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (Tackach 45). The document stated that after January 1, 1863, slaves belonging to all Southern states that were still in rebellion would be free (Tackach 45). However, the Emancipation Proclamation had no immediate effect; slavery was not legally prohibited until the Thirteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1865, about three years after the Emancipation Proclamation was decreed (Tackach 9-10). If the Emancipation Proclamation did not completely abolish slavery, what was the point of the document? Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was not actually written for the purpose of freeing any slaves. Rather, it was a war tactic to militarily weaken the South, add soldiers to the Union cause, and please abolitionist Northerners.
In the words of Abraham Lincoln, “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”. This shows Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation so all slaves could be free. The Proclamation helped the slaves who were not free become free, it let blacks join the army and get more jobs they never could have before the Proclamation was issued.
No doubt, famous historical figure Abraham Lincoln was a key figure for the United States during its Civil War. Whenever he’s spoken of in the educational system, he’s known as the man who freed the slaves. During Lincoln’s presidency, he implemented an order that would forever affect the slaves and the outcome of the Civil War. On September 22, 1862, he released the preliminary announcement for the Emancipation Proclamation. It eventually went into full effect on January 1st, 1863, during the second year of the Civil War. As President Lincoln signed the proclamation on New Year 's day in his office, he quoted, “I never felt more certain, that I was doing right, than signing this paper.”
Finally, after the Union victory in the Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862), Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation on September 22, declaring his intention of promulgating another proclamation in 100 days, freeing the slaves in the states deemed in rebellion at that time. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, conferring liberty on about 3,120,000 slaves. With the enactment of the 13th Amendment to the U.S.
Lincoln wished to destroy the South and instill it with ideas from the anti-slave North. Blacks would be free to work for themselves as freemen. The South took the Emancipation Proclamation as the Nation’s biggest atrocity committed on its own people in history. Some slave owning Northerners claimed it was unconstitutional and would lead to violent slave uprisings and the taking of white man’s jobs. This was an “act of justice” that needed to be signed and ratified (Chapter 14, pp. 447). Lincoln knew that this was an important moment in history when he said: “If my name ever goes into history, it was for this act” (Chapter 14, pp. 447). This is what Lincoln would be remembered for in the years to come. His name went down in history as the President
During his election campaign and throughout the early years of the Civil War, Lincoln vehemently denied the rumour that he would mount an attack on slavery. At the outbreak of fighting, he pledged to 'restore the Union, but accept slavery where it existed', with Congress supporting his position via the Crittendon-Johnson Resolutions. However, during 1862 Lincoln was persuaded for a number of reasons that Negro emancipation as a war measure was both essential and sound. Public opinion seemed to be going that way, Negro slaves were helping the Southern war effort, and a string of defeats had left Northern morale low. A new moral boost to the cause might give weary Union soldiers added impetus in the fight. Furthermore, if the Union fought against slavery, Britain and France could not help the other side, since their 'peculiar institution' was largely abhorred in both European nations. Having eased the American public into the idea, through speeches that hinted at emancipation, Lincoln finally signed the Proclamation on January 1st 1863, releasing all slaves behind rebel lines. Critics argued that the proclamation went little further than the Second Confiscation Act and it conveniently failed to release prisoners behind Union lines. Nevertheless, Henry Adams summed up public reaction to the Proclamation as an 'almost convulsive reaction in our favour'.
“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).