Investigate President Abraham Lincoln’s Decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863

                                                                                 

                                                                                          BY

Diwash Bhatta

KILGORE COLLEGE

 

 

SUBMITTED TO 

MEREDITH LEE MAY

DEC 2017

 

 

 

 

                                                                  Emancipation Proclamation

US history is full of challenges, secrets, treaties, fights and a lot of inventions.  The United States that we see now is a result of sacrifice of life of a lot of peoples. The problem of discrimination among black and white has affected the whole history of US leading to a lot of death in the past. When Abraham Lincoln became president of US in 1860, it created a lot of hope and excitement among black peoples, as he was the first black president of United States. Abraham Lincoln did a lot of new works and advancement in American politics and federal law. In the year 1961, the civil war started. This war led to the death of lot of innocent people and caused the damage of a huge amount of property. The fragmentation among states, and the racial discrimination among black and white was still remained in the society due to which the black were still dominated in the society. During the Summer of 1862, Lincoln came up with an idea of emancipation proclamation, which he released as a preliminary Emancipation which is unknown to many of us. Emancipation Proclamation is one of the important order issued by president, Abraham Lincoln on Jan 1, 1863. This order was an important executive order in US history which changes the legal status of a lot of black peoples and freed all Confederate slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation led to the Union’s victory in The Civil War as it freed lots of slaves to be put in the Union army. It was also the most important aspect of Lincoln’s legacy. The proclamation was very important in history because it paved the way for the abolition of slavery rapidly,  gave rights, and also led changes in the United States. 

                “Up until September 1862, the main focus of the war had been to preserve the Union. With the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation freedom for slaves now became a legitimate war aim.This was a great step taken by president. Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862¹. It stipulated that if the Southern states did not cease their rebellion by January 

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     ¹BBB.  “10 Facts about Emancipation Proclamation.” Civil War Trust. (2013).

1st, 1863, then Proclamation would go into effect”.  This means it was only to the states in rebellion. The 

proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free². During the war, the States in south used the slaves to help their armies in the field and to manage the front. Lincoln justified the emanicipation proclamation as a war measure intended to cripple the Confederates use of slaves in war. The book, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End Of Slavery in America, says “No single official paper in American history changed the lives of as many Americans as Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. But no American document has been held up to greater suspicion” ³. Most of us believe that that this process or decision completly changed the discrimination easily, but it took lot of different difficult phases and time to complete equalty among the peoples.” Although it is considered one of the most important documents in American history the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately end slavery in this country—that was only achieved with passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution on December 18, 1865”.⁴ The use of those slaves in the war helped a lot. “The Union victory led to the abolition of slavery and the most dramatic redistribution of wealth in U.S. history--probably in the history of the world. It made citizens of African Americans and enfranchised Blacks males, who during the period of Reconstruction, when the South was under military control, elected Blacks to numerous political positions, including U.S. Senate.”

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²US National Archives and Record Administration. “Emancipation Proclamation” National Archives. 2012

³Guelzo, Allen. “Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End Of Slavery in America” Simon and Schuster Feb 27,2004

⁴Carpenter, F. B.” First Reading of Proclamation” Library of congress. Web.

⁵Emancipation proclamation is one of the major incident in the history of United States done by any of the black president. There was a lot of changes took place slowly after the war. If this proclamation was not held, it would have taken a long time for black peoples to get this kind authority which was officially written. Despite a lot of limitations, Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation marked a crucial turn point in the evolution of Lincoln’s views of slavery also as a turn point in Civil War. By war’s end, some 200,000 black men would serve in the Union Army and Navy, striking a mortal blow against the institution of slavery and paving the way for its eventual abolition by the 13th Amendment.⁶ More than 75 percent of the people who were slave were freed because of this proclamation. The people who were dominated could feel the small kind of freedom and could enjoy some rights. Abraham Lincoln considered the Emancipation Proclamation as one of the crowning achievement of his presidency and said “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 whole soul is in it."⁷

⁵Green, John. “Who Freed the Slaves?” Socialistworker.org. (Feb 25, 2005)

⁶Ola Ajib. “5 Things You May Not Know About Lincoln, Slavery and Emancipation” AGOIWOYE. (Feb 4,2013)

 ⁷BBB. “10 Facts about Emancipation Proclamation.” Civil War Trust.(2013)

 

 

 

 

                                                                     Works Cited

 

     BBB.  “10 Facts about Emancipation Proclamation.” Civil War Trust, (2013).

US National Archives and Record Administration. “Emancipation Proclamation” National Archives, (2012).

Guelzo, Allen. “Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End Of Slavery in America” Simon and Schuster. Feb 27,2014.

Carpenter, F. B.” First Reading of Proclamation” Library of congress. Web.

Green, John. “Who Freed the Slaves?” Socialistworker.org. Feb 25,2005.

Ola, Ajib. “ 5 Things You May Not Know About Lincoln, Slavery and Emancipation” AGOIWOYE, Feb24,2004.

 http://agoiwoye.org/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-lincoln-slavery-and-emancipation/