Issued by President Lincoln and put into place on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation states "that all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free" (National Archives). When most Americans think of who freed the slaves, they think of President Lincoln. Although he was ultimately the one who freed them, we should not forget about the other people who also fought for African Americans. Many American fought long before Licoln's presidency.
Other abolitionists were overshadowed and forgotten about. When Americans think about who freed the slaves, they should think of the collective and not just one person. People should think of all that tried their best and fought for what was right.
Allen Guelzo, a historian who strongly
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He would not leave office without progress. Lincoln knew the Emancipation Proclamation would anger many, but he also knew that freeing African Americans was the right thing to do. Lincoln had some trouble with the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln feared that if he advocated for emancipation he would provoke some states into joining the Confederacy, making the war even more difficult to win (Khan Academy). As Guelzo stated, "Thus Lincoln's Proclamation was one of the biggest political gambles in American history" (Guelzo …show more content…
Yes, Abraham Lincoln had a lot to do with freeing African Americans, but some say that it was not his main goal. Lincoln had been playing a game of patience, but a lot of slaves did not have time to wait. Slaves were mistreated, beaten, and uncared for, leading to many deaths. In Vincents's document, he refers to the Emancipation Proclamation as being "...primarily as a weapon against the South…" (Harding 231). So Lincoln was not fighting for the African Americans out of desire for equality but rather for war purposes. Lincoln was torn between the North and South and issued the Emancipation Proclamation to gain more control.
In his book, There Is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America, Harding mentions God a number of times. Many African Americans were extraordinarily strong in their faith and looked to their God for help. "Men and women chose to believe that some mysterious movement of the Divine was among them…" (Harding 222). The religious part of the document was very important, because faith is what kept many slaves going. African Americans believed that Lincoln was not going to help them, so they turned to the only one whom they could fully believe and trust in (Library of