Significance of Emancipation Proclamation

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In the summer of 1862, in Washington DC, the Civil War had betaking place for nearly a year, and this war was not going according to how Abraham Lincoln had anticipated. During that time, 11 out of the 15 southern states which considered slavery legal were establishing the Confederate States of America and were pursuing a war to move free from the United States. When the war began, people anticipated taking the United States some few weeks before suppressing.

Although Lincoln had no plans of abolishing slavery when the war started, situations changed quickly (Carpenter, 2021). The change happened when the forces from the North attacked the South, and the enslaved individuals fled from captivity to the United States army lines. Lincoln, after realizing that the war was majorly about slavery, drafted the Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed the abolition of slavery. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation to help the Union Army win the war by enlisting the freed slaves in the army, and thus increasing their human resources.

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to help the Union Army win the war because he abolished slavery and declared that freed slaves be enlisted in the Union Army, in turn increasing the available human resources. Furthermore, when the enslaved individuals gained knowledge about the Proclamation, they actively participated in the attempts to free themselves from captivity. There active participation was improved mainly because they were aware the army was on their side. Also, several activists claimed that granting freedom to enslaved individuals in the South would play an essential role in assisting the Union to win the war.

This move was beneficial to the Union since the ex-slaves provided labor, which would be critical in the Confederate war struggles (Guelzo, 2005). Additionally, the Union Army accepted freed black men into the army and gave them a chance to fight for the abolition of slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation altered the focus of the war because up until September 1862, the war mainly focused on preserving the Union. However, following Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, it began to provide freedom to enslaved individuals.

Moreover, freeing slaves and allowing them to be enlisted in the Union Army helped it win the war because it provided a chance for African Americans to fight for their freedom. The chances of winning the Union War increased drastically now that the government dedicated all efforts to ending slavery. In his Proclamation speech, Lincoln declared that the United States armed service would accept all African Americans in healthy conditions(Carpenter, 2021).

The War Department of the United States provided General Order No. 143, only five months after the Emancipation Proclamation, which created the United States Colored Troops. When the war ended, more than 200,000 African-Americans were serving in the Union Army and the navy. Additionally, Congress passed the Militia Act in 1862, which permitted Black men to serve in the United States armed forces as manual workers. Besides, Congress passed the Confiscation Act, which directed enslaved individuals released from Confederate supporters to be decreed free forever.

Besides freeing slaves and allowing them to be enlisted in the Union Army, the Union won the war because it led to the complete abolition of slavery in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation not only changed the aim of the war to involve preserving the Union and freeing slaves, but also ensured the availability of enough human resources to fight (John, 1993). Moreover, signing of the Proclamation was initially meant to free only the slaves from rebellious states.

By the time the war ended, it had influenced and made the citizens ready to fight and accept the freeing of all slaves in the South and North. Furthermore, the Emancipation Proclamation played an essential role in the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery in the United States after Congress passed the bill in 1865. According to President Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation was one of his greatest achievements. He stated that signing the paper was the essential aspect of his legacy because he had never been sure of anything like he felt signing the Emancipation Proclamation.

Also, the freeing of slaves and allowing them to be enlisted in the Union Army helped the Union win the war because the Proclamation marked an important change in the views of President Lincoln regarding slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation redefined the Civil War because it turned from preserving the Union to the struggle to end slavery (John, 1993). Although Lincoln personally disliked slavery and saw it as immoral, he did believe that the constitution granted the federal government the authority to end it in the states where it was already present.

In 1861, during his first inaugural address, he stated that he had no intentions of interfering with slavery directly or indirectly in the states where it already existed. When the war began, Lincoln maintained that it was not about the abolition of slavery (Mint, 2021). However, when it proceeded for more than one year, he began to realize that engaging the United States to abolish slavery would help his cause. When Lincoln’s view about slavery changed, he attempted to make the border states accept gradual emancipation and compensation to enslavers.

Additionally, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to help the Union Army win the war because it prohibited European forces from intervening to support the Confederacy. Since the Emancipation Proclamation made the freeing of the slaves the Union’s goal, it still connected the support of the Confederacy to aiding slavery, even though, most European forces had begun to consider slavery illegal. While signing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln had anticipated that it would sway foreign popular opinion to favor the Union by getting assistance from European countries which had already forbidden slavery (Guelzo, 2005).

Also, by preventing European forces from supporting Confederacy, it efficiently ended his wishes to receive official acknowledgment from European heads of states. France and Britain had plans of assisting the Confederacy to increase their influence in the Western Hemisphere. Although, most European nations were against slavery, some felt that the Emancipation Proclamation was reckless and limited, such as the United Kingdom.

Besides, the Emancipation Proclamation provided a way for more aggressive policies towards European powers. After the Proclamation, it was obvious to European colonial powers who were still trying to control the world that it would impact their foreign policies (Carpenter, 2021). For instance, England was expected to support either the South or North since they were all in trade before the war started. The Emancipation Proclamation gained a lot of support in Europe because most nations had already abolished slavery. Most of them had declared slavery illegal, and enslavers had released all the slaves(Guelzo, 2005).

Therefore, making timing of the Emancipation Proclamation very effective for the United States. It meant that no matter the relationship between the foreign nations and the South and North, the United States would not support them unless they were seen to support the already abolished slavery. Despite the goal of slavery changing after the Emancipation Proclamation, the Confederacy was still seen fighting to retain slavery. Hence, no European forces were interested in supporting them in the war.

Moreover, the Emancipation Proclamation declared by Lincoln helped the Union Army win the war because of the support they gained from the slaves. When the enslaved individuals gained knowledge about the Proclamation, they actively participated in the attempts to free themselves from captivity since they knew that the army was on their side. The freeing of slaves and allowing them to be enlisted in the Union Army also helped them win the war because it provided African Americans with a way of fighting for their freedom.

Furthermore, abolishing slavery and allowing slaves to be enlisted in the Union Army helped the Union win the war because the Proclamation marked an important change in the views of President Lincoln regarding slavery. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to help them win the war since it prohibited European forces from intervening to support the Confederacy. Lastly, the Emancipation Proclamation provided a way for more aggressive policies towards European powers, and they gained a lot of support in Europe because most nations had already abolished slavery. However, there were other European nations who were against slavery, and they felt that the Emancipation Proclamation was reckless and limited, such as the United Kingdom.

References

Carpenter, F. B. (2021). First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln.

Guelzo, A. C. (2005). Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The end of slavery in America. Simon and Schuster. Web.

John, H. F. (1993). The Emancipation Proclamation. An Act of Justice. Web.

Mint, L. (2021). Emancipation Proclamation (from the History of the Civil War Medal Collection).

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Significance of Emancipation Proclamation

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