It is no news that former President Abraham Lincoln had an immensely important decision to make in his hands. The goal of the civil war at the beginning was an attempt to reunite the divided states and rekindle their comradery. The abolishment of slavery did not come into play until a while after. The reason probably being that many people at the time did believe slavery was wrong but did not particularly believe in equality for African Americans.   Lincoln wrote the proclamation in July of 1862, and later in September he issued it as the "Preliminary Proclamation.". He used this as an ultimatum towards the south stating "..that if the rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in the free rebellious states would be free." One of the many reasons the Emancipation Proclamation was challenging to decide on is that Lincoln feared it would reinvigorate the war and worried the south might use the freed slaves to their advantage. The proclamation proved itself to be quite a challenge to write due to it containing it's fair amount of irony and contradictions. Ironic because he was freeing the slaves in the rebel states in the south. States where he at that point had no control over. Furthermore, he was not freeing the slaves in the north or the border states where slavery could continue despite the Emancipation Proclamation. The document contradicted itself because Lincoln could not technically free the slaves according to the Constitution because they were labeled as personal property. He found a justification that was to use the Emancipation Proclamation as an act of war. Lincoln felt it was justified because he would be freeing the slaves and also undermine the war effort in the south. The only problem is that the document did not carry a force of law. It only brought a direction of policy enforced by his generals as they passed through the south. The slaves could technically be re-enslaved once the war was over. But this was later no longer a concern after the passing of the 13th amendment which declared to abolish slavery. One of the other outcomes of using the Emancipation Proclamation as a tactic of war is that it introduced an entirely new population into the war. It encouraged slaves to enlist in the army. As the white soldiers were starting to lose their will to fight, these new black soldiers arrived to put new enthusiasm and fire into the military resulting in further successes and ultimately victory. 

Contrary to popular belief, Lincoln did not particularly believe African Americans should have the same rights as whites did. On August 14, 1862 President Lincoln met with a group of African Americans to introduce his plans to colonize freed slaves outside the United States. President Lincoln stated, “..But even when you cease to be slaves, you are yet far removed from being placed on an equality with the white race. You are cut off from many of the advantages which the other race enjoy. The aspiration of men is to enjoy equality with the best when free, but on this broad continent, not a single man of your race is made the equal of a single man of ours. Go where you are treated the best, and the ban is still upon you..” This idea was not new as it had been brought up by former U.S. presidents such as Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. This proposal by Lincoln was quickly rejected by most African Americans because they deemed it as racist. “General Ulysses S. Grant, a commander in the Union army, had some of the same opinions as those radical northerners, and also believed that slaves should be used in the army and put into their own communities as to progress on their own, as slaves weren’t quite ready to be thrown into society.”

 After having a sleepless night on December 31, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln finally decided to sign the Emancipation Proclamation the very next morning on January 1, 1863. Calling for the Emancipation of slaves in rebel states as well as the recruitment of African Americans to the Union military. Lincoln stated in the Proclamation, "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.”.  The Emancipation Proclamation managed to change the main focus of the war. Previously it had been to preserve the Union, but with the issuance of the Proclamation, the freeing of slaves across the south became a main goal. Every victory from then on was a victory for those who wished to abolish slavery. It reinstated hope in slaves who wished for their long-awaited and deserved freedom. As stated earlier, Lincoln called for the recruitment of freed slaves for the Union army because additional soldiers were desperately needed at this point in the war. By the end of the war close to 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought on the side of the Union.

In summary, the Emancipation Proclamation was written for various reasons. It was to help increase the Union’s morale just as much as it was to free slaves. Although the Proclamation itself did not manage to do something outstanding, it was certainly a step in the right direction and a step closer to the abolishment of slavery. With the signing of the Emancipation, Former President Abraham Lincoln truly managed to kill two birds with one stone.