ipl-logo

Emancipation Proclamation Dbq

956 Words4 Pages

By July 1862, the Union army was having an extremely difficult time gaining any victories or advances in the Civil War. After many, many losses to the Confederate Army, Lincoln was desperate to find a way to recruit soldiers that would be of help to the Union. After the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Lincoln’s fist concern was the preservation of the United States. Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, associate professor of history in the Indiana University Bloomington College of Arts and Science, stated that, “Lincoln was clear that this was not about slaves. It was about the Union and whatever he needed to do to save the Union, he would do.” Yet in order to preserve the Union, Lincoln knew that he would ultimately have to abolish slavery. He …show more content…

In September of 1862, after a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation was released to the public New York Evening Post Editor, William Cullen Bryant editorialized: "Its puts us right before Europe.. It brings back our traditions; it animates our soldiers with the same spirit which led our forefathers to victory under Washington; they are fighting today, as the Revolutionary patriots fought, in the interests of the human race..” Abolitionists rejoiced at the Proclamation, for it finally showed a glimpse of a possibility that one day slavery in the United Sates of America would be non-existent. However, in Eric Coker’s article, Acclaimed historian discusses Lincoln and slavery, he states …show more content…

[That] Union leaders realized that giving the runaway slaves back to their owners was not an option; it only aided the Confederates cause, [and] by not returning them, the Union not only gained a source of labor - and, later, soldiers - they denied the source of labor to the enemy.”
Levine’s comment really confirms that the Emancipation Proclamation and every movement to abolish slavery during the Civil War wasn’t actually to grant the slaves freedom, but rather to weaken the Confederate army and even the Confederate’s labor system. It only appeared to to be such a large movement for anti-slavery because they coincidentally benefitted from these strategic movements by the Union. In addition, the Emancipation Proclamation gained mixed emotions from the northern states, an article in the New York Times recalled that abolitionists “looked glum, and grumbled with dissatisfaction because the unexpected proclamation was only given on account of military necessity.” Yet, in the same article Henry Ward Beecher was quoted as saying “the Proclamation may not free a single slave, but it gives liberty a moral

Show More
Related
169 Words | 1 Pages

In this Document, President Lincoln declared that all slaves in rebellion states were to be “forever free” at the issued date of the document. Although this Document did not in fact free most slaves , it was considered to be one of the most important turning points of the war, and it had preserved the fight for freedom in the nation at the time. When the Emancipation Proclamation had taken its effect, a couple million salves were freed. Lincoln, at first, had no stance on Slavery, mostly at the beginning of his term, however that had changed, and when this document was issued, it was clear that President Lincoln was not in favor of slavery. However, slavery still existed in the South (Confederate States) until there was a victor, and in this

Read More
882 Words | 4 Pages

’s Thesis was centered around the idea that Lincoln viewed emancipation as “a goal to be achieved through prudential means, so that worthwhile consequences might result.” He argued that every gradual step Lincoln took towards the abolition of slavery was done to “balance the integrity of ends with the integrity of means,” to accomplish this while still placing the constitution above all of his personal opinions. Guelzo then presented and answered four questions that he believed arose as a result of his prudence argument; why is the language of the Proclamation bland, did the Proclamation actually do anything, did the slaves free themselves, and finally did Lincoln issue the Proclamation to only to prevent European intervention or inflate Union morale? In response to the first, Guelzo makes the point that the Proclamation was a legal document, and that “every syllable was liable to… legal

Read More
398 Words | 2 Pages

There is some debate on whether or not the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 truly freed the slaves of the south. There is evidence proving that the proclamation in fact did not actually emancipate slaves like it should have according to the document. Full emancipation did not come until after the end of the Civil War. Lincoln used the Emancipation Proclamation as a war tactic against the south. And although it claims to free the slaves immediately, Lincoln did not have that kind of power over the south.

Read More
991 Words | 4 Pages

When the south seceded from the Union, the Confederacy was formed and the Civil War began. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863 by Lincoln as the Civil War was coming to its third year. The proclamation states that “all persons held as slaves within any State”... “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free;” This document was revolutionary because it freed all former slaves. However, Abraham Lincoln did this only because he was convinced it was a reliable military strategy.

Read More
869 Words | 4 Pages

On September 2nd, 1862, Abraham Lincoln famously signed the Emancipation Proclamation. After that, there’s been much debate on whether Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation truly played a role in freeing the slaves with many arguments opposing or favoring this issue. In Vincent Harding’s essay, The Blood-red Ironies of God, Harding argues in his thesis that Lincoln did not help to emancipate the slaves but that rather the slaves “self-emancipated” themselves through the war. On the opposition, Allen C Guelzo ’s essay, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, argues in favor of the Emancipation Proclamation and Guelzo acknowledges Lincoln for the abolishment of slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation.

Read More
474 Words | 2 Pages

Between the start of the Civil War and the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation, opinions about emancipation took a turn for the better. During the Civil War, President Lincoln decided that the Union could use emancipation, or the freeing of slaves, as a weapon against the South and wrote the Emancipation Proclamation in September of 1862. The Emancipation Proclamation, put into effect on the first of January in 1863, was a document declaring the release of slaves from the cruel chains of slavery. In an October issue from 1861, the Sacramento Bee stated that the emancipation of slaves would only worsen things, because black people and white people can never live as equals. The superior race will always rise, and the lower race will

Read More
1266 Words | 6 Pages

At certain times throughout the Civil War and times leading up to it, the Union posed a bigger threat towards slavery than other times. In Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, he stated that he supported the fugitive slave law and he “[had] no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. [He believed he had] no lawful right to do so, and [had] no inclination to do so” (Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, page 1). This was when the South’s fears that the Union planned on abolishing slavery were at an all time

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

British Lord Russell pointed out the irony: “It does no more than profess to emancipate slaves where the United States authorities cannot make emancipation a reality, and emancipates no one where the decree can be carried into effect.” To justify the Emancipation Proclamation, President Lincoln maintained

Read More
695 Words | 3 Pages

President Lincoln stated that: “if I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it,..., and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would do it.”. This quote clearly shows that the freedom of slaves was not his concern and unnecessary if it did not help the Union; as the result, slavery still exists if there is no war. Free slave from bondage should be a Great Emancipator’s primary goal and he will do his best to achieve it no matter what, but president Lincoln’s thought differed from that because all he cares was the Union. Although he had many times admitting himself an anti-slavery but his words and thoughts obviously prove that he is

Read More
1594 Words | 7 Pages

The Emancipation Proclamation The Civil War (1861-1865) ended in a victory for the Union, however, such a victory was made possible by the Emancipation Proclamation. Abraham Lincoln’s issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation paved the way to a Union victory in the Civil War by shifting the focus of the war from solely the restoration of a strong Union to the emancipation of slaves as well. This shift in the reason for and the meaning of the Civil War was the main factor that ultimately led to the Union victory due to the implications the Emancipation Proclamation had on foreign involvement in the war and the southern economy.

Read More
839 Words | 4 Pages

The Emancipation Proclamation is perhaps the most misunderstood document that has shaped American history. Contradictory to the legend, Abraham Lincoln did not simply free four million slaves with a stroke of his pen. The proclamation barely ensured the eventual death of slavery, the matter left as a possibility - assuming the Union won the war. In reality, the Emancipation Proclamation was no more than an act of propaganda, issued for the purpose of weakening the Confederacy and assuring Union victory. July 1862, Congress established 2 laws based on the premise of weakening the Confederacy.

Read More
1303 Words | 6 Pages

Slavery was common in America. Especially, African Americans were targeted and were forced to work hard under harsh environment. When they did not obey their owners, or did not work hard, they received violence. However, industries in the North began to develop, while the South still depended on slavery. This led to the conflict between the North and the South, which is known as the Civil War.

Read More
473 Words | 2 Pages

As the Battle of Antietam closed on September 17, the Union victory made significant ground, which allowed for President Lincoln to release the Emancipation Proclamation with meaning. Warranted by the Constitution and military necessity, the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in the states participating in rebellion, ultimately diminishing Southern morale and production. The Emancipation Proclamation reads, “I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States are and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.” Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation is a very legalistic document, deriving its foundation from the law itself. In a letter to O.H. Browning, Lincoln explained what the document did not allow, “it is not for him to fix their permanent future condition.

Read More
1771 Words | 8 Pages

Lincoln promised that he would contain the blowout of slavery but he believed that the Union could not survive without the reliability of the slave-holding Border States so he proceeded carefully. While Lincoln was

Read More
511 Words | 3 Pages

Emancipation has been defined as the pursuit, expansion, and security of freedom. Lincoln was an immigrant from the South who had flourished in two states, Indiana and Illinois, where laws against both slavery and the migration of free blacks protected whites like him against nonwhite competition (Lind 2005). One of Lincoln’s biggest achievements as president of the United States was the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves and allowed black soldiers to fight in the Union Army. Abraham Lincoln wrote that the assertion of human equality in the Declaration provides "a standard maxim for free society, which should be familiar to all, and revered by all; continuously looked to, always labored for, and even though never perfectly attained, always approximated, and thereby continuously spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life for all people of all colors everywhere" (Becker 1922). Lincoln's preliminary proclamation declared that on New Year's, 1863, slaves in areas that were in rebellion against the United States shall be right now

Read More

More about Emancipation Proclamation Dbq

Related Topics

Open Document