The Emancipation Proclamation: An Ethical Act

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Under the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863. Emancipation is the process of being set free from social, legal, or political restraints. African Americans endured a great process to become fully emancipated from whites. The nation was approaching the third year into the civil war when this occurred. The proclamation stated that any person being held as slave within the states are and henceforward shall be free. Although, slaves were legally emancipated they were not totally free. Historians believe that in this period of time emancipation was portrayed as an ethical act. There are plenty of reasons on events that led up the emancipation of African Americans . The Civil War and Reconstruction …show more content…

After emancipation whites could hire slaves as indentured servants. However, freed slaves were not permitted to be hired, which explains why the immigration of a free slave was prohibited into that state . The state of Illinois eve tried to bring slavery to the state by Legislature. During a trip to Mississippi, Abraham Lincoln got a chance to see what slavery looked like close up. Lincoln saw shackles, Negros chained together, and them being whipped by white men. After seeing that, Lincoln came to a realization that slavery was dehumanization and that it should be illegal. He was an Illinois Representative in Congress during the time, and he decided that if he was ever granted to the opportunity to have the power to change how society was, he would . Lincoln was not fully comfortable to discuss his stance on slavery during his first session as a Representative in Congress. However, Lincoln still voted according to how he felt on the issues involved expanding slavery. After remaining humble, Lincoln realized that it was time he approached a way of changing how slavery lives in America. Lincoln gathered several prominent government officials together to draw up a bill to end chattel slavery. Along those government officials were, Joshua Giddings, the leading abolitionist of Congress . Giddings fully supported the bill that Lincoln wanted to propose. Giddings believe it was a very necessary bill and …show more content…

He believed that there are several different meanings for the word freedom because people in America definitely had different perceptions. For instance, if you were a slave in America you would see freedom as a way out and something to look forward to. Being a white person freedom didn’t mean much because they already had supremacy over the country. Although, freedom in American was never a fixed concept or something that was prerequisite, it was very important to blacks in America

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