Significance Of The Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest president this country has ever seen, or was he? He used his influence and freed the slaves and gave the north the push it needed to save the slaves from the tyranny of the south, or did he use his powers and a broad constitutional interpretation with the hopes of a short war. The Emancipation Proclamation was much more than a simple act of abolitionism, it was an act of interpretation, and an act of overreaching on the part of the Executive branch. Lincoln and his Proclamation is known for the freeing the slaves but it was only effecting the south, it was made this way in order to cripple the south, but the north was far from slave free throughout the war. Morally Lincoln saw it as wrong but he was

With the rebellion of the south Lincoln saw a great military opportunity at his feet and that was to allow escaped slaves to join the Union army. With increased manpower the union could over run the confederacy. Also there were many states that still held slavery under the Proclamation, those who supported the Union and some southern states that the Union had gained control over were exempt in an effort to draw support from the white citizens. With the victory at Antietam, the Union was in a place where Lincoln felt comfortable to issue the Proclamation so it appeared the Union was making a strong swift action and not an act of desperation. So in reality the only places it freed slaves were in the areas that were in full rebellion against the Union, making the Emancipation a political and military document instead of an act for

He needed to keep in mind that if the Union was to stay intact that he needed to please both sides. In an attempt to do so he created a document that along with freeing some it kept some in chains. The document gave the Union a surge in manpower and also support from the states by allowing those who supported it to keep their slaves. Eventually slavery would die but not as peacefully as Lincoln wanted it. And even with freedom there was the issue of giving the freed slaves the ability to practice their unalienable rights like the rest of American citizens. Lincoln only saw the slaves as having a right to see the fruits of their own labor nothing more, claiming on September 18, 1858, “I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races,” in a debate against his opponent Stephen Douglas for the U.S senate for Illinois.(5 Things) Though Lincoln eventually would push for the 13th amendment and state that the slaves who escaped and risked everything to fight for the union should be given those rights in a reward for their