Liberation of Black Slaves
In September, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued a pre
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In September, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary version of his Emancipation Proclamation. With this proclamation, Lincoln announced the fact that freeing the black slaves was a Northern objective in the Civil War. Specifically, the Emancipation Proclamation gave the South "until January 1, 1863, to return to the Union or face emancipation." Lincoln's statement was issued a few days after the Northern victory in the Battle at Antietam. The President had been waiting for a strong Northern victory before making his proclamation. Following the Battle at Antietam, Lincoln told the members of his administration that he "had made a covenant with God... that if the army drove the enemy from Maryland he would issue his Emancipation Proclamation." Prior to that time, Lincoln was concerned only with restoring the South to the Union. At first, Lincoln was not particularly concerned with whether the slaves were freed or not. Rather, his goal was simply to bring the South back into the Union by whatever means necessary. Lincoln's early attitude toward emancipation was revealed in a letter that he wrote to Horace Greeley, a noted writer for the New York Tribune. The letter was written on August 22, 1862, just weeks before Lincoln issued his first Emancipation Proclamation. In the letter, the President claimed that he cared only for saving the Union. In addition, he claimed that he didn't care whether slavery was either saved or destroyed in the process. In Lincoln's
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ety, the Emancipation Proclamation had both short- and long-term effects. In the words of Eric Foner and Olivia Mahoney, the Emancipation Proclamation "profoundly altered the nature of the war and the future course of American history."
The most important short-term effects of the proclamation were those which related to the North winning the war and restoring the Union. As noted by James M. McPherson, there were four basic ways in which the Emancipation Proclamation helped strengthen the North while simultaneously weakening the South. Thus, the Emancipation Proclamation helped: (1) undermine the security of the South; (2) increase European sympathy and support for the North; (3) increase a sense of morality for the Northern cause; and (4) encourage former black slaves to fight on the Northern side.
The effect that the Emancipation Proclamation had on Southern security can be seen in the fact that it attacked an important Southern institution. The South had long been dependent on slave labor for the success of its agricultural economy. Therefore, the Emancipation Proclamation provided a threat to the economic well-being of the South. In addition, it can be seen that the cause to free the slaves was an important symbol i
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Approximate Word count = 2650
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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