Emancipation Proclamation Dbq

Lincoln has often been referred to as the great slave emancipator, and his role in establishing the emancipation of African American’s has been looked to as one of his greatest achievements. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1st 1863 and declared that ‘all persons held as slaves… shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free’. This can be seen as the first executive order issued regarding the establishment of African American’s as citizens of the United States. Lincoln can therefore be seen as vital to the emancipation of African Americans. However, it can be argued that to an extent, Lincoln was forced into issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, by the actions of African American slaves who actively pursued their freedom.

It therefore left slaves in the Union’s territory under the ownership of slaveholders. It can therefore be argued that African American’s were not emancipated until Congress issued the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, Berlin states that ‘Even after the surrender of the Confederacy, slavery survived in two border states until the Thirteenth Amendment became part of the United States Constitution in December 1865’. It is therefore interesting to look to the actions of slaves after the Emancipation Proclamation, which can further suggest their role in their eventual emancipation. However, it also suggests an interplay of factors, as the Presidents executive order gave rise to new opportunities for African Americans to fight for their freedom. The Emancipation Proclamation ordered that those freed could be enrolled into the paid service of the Union’s armed forces. Freed slaves enthusiastically responded to this new right, Foner states that ‘by the war's end some 180,000 blacks had served in the Union army- over one-fifth of the adult male black population of the United States below the age of forty-five.’ African Americans willingness to fight for the Union alongside white men furthered the emancipation cause in that it further associated them as citizens of the United States making the idea of emancipation all the more acceptable to many. The significant increase in the size of the military due to the addition of freed slaves meant that the Union was more successful in battles. African Americans were therefore associated with the military successes that eventually led to the Confederacy’s defeat in 1865. This can be seen as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation, but also suggests how the activism of African Americans ensured they were accepted in the armed forces, moving them closer