Cause and Effect of the Emancipation Proclamation
The Cause:
The reason Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation was to free the slaves of the Southern States. He not only thought that a person being owned by another person was awful but also wanted the former slaves to be able to join the Union and fight against the Confederates during the civil war. Lincoln also wanted to stop the years of African Americans being treated as property which many thought was morally wrong. He first just used the Proclamation as a threat to make the Confederates surrender on September 22, 1862 but when that didn't work he issued the Proclamation on January 1, 1863. To get his cabinet on board with the Proclamation, since they thought it was too radical, Lincoln became very committed to making it happen. Lincoln stressed that it was a necessity to show justice. His cabinet also wanted to wait until a Union victory so they would have no problem enforcing the Proclamation. This victory came in July 1862 after the Battle of Antieham. Just five days later the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The Effect: After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued thousands of slaves were freed from ten Confederate states that were in rebellion. The Proclamation also allowed African Americans to join the Union army and help fight the Confederates which increased the Union's numbers by about 200,000. Also the Union gained an advantage over the Confederacy because the Union could still have slaves to help provide food for soldiers. The Union also made it a goal after issuing the Proclamation to abolish slavery, along with uniting the country. Then on December 6, 1865 slavery was abolished after the end of the Civil War. This was all because the advantages gained when Lincoln issued the Proclamation. It also solidified the American Dream and the prejudice that people have of America today; everyone is created equal and has equal opportunities. |