It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.įrom the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union (United States) military victory.Īlthough the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy (the Southern secessionist states) that had already come under Northern control. It applied only to states that had seceded from the United States, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."ĭespite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The Emancipation Proclamation (page 1) Record Group 11 General Records of the United States
0 kommentar(er)
