ipl-logo

The Impact Of The Emancipation Proclamation On The Civil War

855 Words4 Pages

The Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the Civil War

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, is one of the most significant documents in American history. It declared that all slaves in the Confederate States "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." However, it did not immediately free all slaves, as it only applied to those living in areas still in rebellion against the Union. The Emancipation Proclamation was not only a turning point in the Civil War but also had a profound impact on American society and the fight for civil rights. This paper will explore the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the Civil War, its significance, and its enduring legacy.

Before the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln's main goal was to preserve the Union, not end slavery. However, as the war progressed, he began to realize that slavery was the root cause of the …show more content…

As mentioned earlier, it only applied to those slaves living in the Confederate States. This meant that slaves living in Union states, such as Maryland and Delaware, were not immediately freed. However, the Proclamation did encourage these states to eventually abolish slavery, which they did. Also, the Proclamation did not end slavery immediately, as it was only enforced as the Union Army advanced through the Confederacy. It was not until the end of the Civil War that slavery was finally abolished throughout the United States.

Despite these limitations, the Emancipation Proclamation had a profound impact on American society. It marked a turning point in the fight for civil rights and paved the way for the end of slavery. It also changed the focus of the Civil War and helped the Union Army to ultimately defeat the Confederacy. The Proclamation had a lasting legacy, inspiring future generations in the fight for civil rights. It remains one of the most important documents in American

Show More
Related
1014 Words | 5 Pages

This proclamation allowed African American Soldiers to enlist in the Northern army which gave them a huge advantage. The emancipation proclamation was issued by Lincoln in 1863, which went underneath the south's ability to keep slavery and declared that all southern slaves were now free. After this was pointed into action the union army grew to contain 10% African Americans which led to the victory of the south. One more point that Current talks about is the blockade. The blockade was enforced by the union navy which blocked the southern ports and prevented the south from getting necessary supplies.

Read More
68 Words | 1 Pages

The significance of President Lincoln’s election was that the South took it as an indication that there was to be no compromise. The Emancipation Proclamation freed no slaves, as it only freed slaves in states in rebellion. The Emancipation Proclamation was effective January 1, 1863. Lincoln intended to eliminate or restrict slavery, believed the Southern states and this was one of the causes of the American Civil

Read More
418 Words | 2 Pages

The civil war became a different war as the gleaming sun set over the bloody fields of Antietam. After the union had partially won the battle, Abraham Lincoln changed the war as he wrote one of the most controversial, and most crucial documents in American history: the Emancipation Proclamation (Dudley 166). Mr. Lincoln’s preliminary proclamation declared that on January 1, 1863, all slaves remaining in areas of the South “in rebellion would be declared then, thenceforward, and forever free” (Dudley 167). The Emancipation Proclamation paved the way to the abolition of slavery, and is by far one of the most important accomplishments made in history.

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

The Emancipation Proclamation was a very important turning point of the civil war. Making the fight to preserve human freedom. This was declared by Abraham Lincoln a month after the union victory of the battle of Antietam. The CSA was not all happy, Jefferson Davis the president of the CSA stated that Lincoln had no right of freeing the slaves in the south. He said that the slaves were happy, and with the Proclamation it would make the slaves think to kill their masters.

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
441 Words | 2 Pages

The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone along the road to slavery's final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom. The original of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, is in the National Archives in Washington, DC.

Read More
901 Words | 4 Pages

Although the Emancipation Proclamation had its many immediately felt constraints for the enslaved people, it also led many of these enslaved people to the armed services of the union. Since the war to save the union was seemingly becoming the war to free the slaves as well, the support for the union side was increasing. This increase in union support helped progress the war in favor of the union; just as the president had hoped initially. Embracing the proclamation was something blacks of all communities were celebrating. Especially in the southern states now controlled by the union, the formerly enslaved people were celebrating and gathering in the name of the proclamation.

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

As Commander in Chief, Lincoln initially wanted to ameliorate relations with the Confederacy by having them return to the Union and cease rebellion. So President Lincoln was cautious to abolish slavery. As he once wrote in a letter, “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy Slavery.” Fearing the South’s advance in the War, President Lincoln utilized the Union victory at Antietam, to deliver his decree. The Emancipation Proclamation did three things: it undermined the Confederacy's slave economy, created an influx of soldiers for the Union and made the Civil War explicitly about the institution of slavery.

Read More
1511 Words | 7 Pages

Lincoln was aware that the abolition of slavery could make or break the Civil War for the Union when he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. Though his proclamation was originally written as a military tactic it would and was intended to, have a huge impact on the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation helped the slaves in that it made a new goal

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

The Emancipation Proclamation was a big turning point in the history of America. It started the transformation of slavery to freedom for all people. It may not have been a fast change, but you need to start somewhere, and the Emancipation Proclamation was that somewhere. During the 1800’s, there was a huge war fighting for the freedom of slaves.

Read More
1485 Words | 6 Pages

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

Read More
638 Words | 3 Pages

This executive order, issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, holds immense significance due to its role in the abolition of slavery, its influence on the nation's moral fabric, and its lasting effects on the evolution of the United States as a nation. The Emancipation Proclamation announced on January 1, 1863, declared "that all persons held as slaves" within Confederate territory "are, and henceforward shall be free." By effectively freeing slaves in the rebellious states, it fundamentally altered the course of the Civil War. Lincoln's proclamation shifted the primary focus of the war from preserving the Union to an active pursuit of liberty and justice for all Americans.

Read More
1198 Words | 5 Pages

The Proclamation was a turning point in the Civil War because it changed the focus of the war from preserving the Union to fighting for human freedom from slavery. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Even though the wording of the Emancipation Proclamation was extensive, it was still limited in some areas. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, with slavery remaining in the Border States.

Read More
293 Words | 2 Pages

The Civil War now at the peak of its battles, the death toll rising, and the pressure building on Abraham Lincoln to turn the tides of war in favor of the Union Army. Lincoln was facing enormous pressure from Congress to find any advantage that would give the North a chance to win the war against the South. Lincoln saw that disrupting things in the Southern economy and way of living would unsettle the South just enough to distract them in the war. He would issue the Emancipation Proclamation in order to try and release the slaves and destabilize the South in their war efforts. Lincoln threatened to emancipate all the slaves, in both Northern and Southern states, unless the rebellions of the South were ended.

Read More
747 Words | 3 Pages

When the Confederacy did not yield, Lincoln put the final Emancipation Proclamation into effect. After it was put in effect with the civil war was concluded, Lincoln could not have been prouder of enacting the order. “Heralded as the savior of the Union, President Lincoln actually considered the Emancipation Proclamation to be the most important aspect of his legacy. “I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper,” he declared. “If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my

Read More

More about The Impact Of The Emancipation Proclamation On The Civil War

Related Topics

Open Document