The emancipation proclamation

Résumé du document

President Abraham Lincoln entered the war in order to preserve the union of the United States rather than to abolish slavery. Indeed, he repeatedly emphasized that his paramount objective in the war was to save the union, not to free the slaves. However, Lincoln has been such pressured by Abolitionists and Radical Republicans to issue an Emancipation Proclamation that he accepted, in that way, to transform the character of the war. Moreover, he realized that fighting in order to free the slaves would motivate his soldiers. On June the 19th 1862, Abraham Lincoln began the redaction of the Emancipation Proclamation. On September the 22nd 1862, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which was warning that on January the 1st, he would free all the slaves in the states still in rebellion against the Union.

Extraits

[...] Thereby, the Emancipation Proclamation, which was written in wartime, was an act of justice towards the slaves and a military necessity too. The emancipation proclamation The Civil War An act of justice A military necessity Bibliography The Civil War President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation while the South and the North of the United States were in a bloody war. The country was separated into two parts. The southerners were in favour of slavery. In fact, their economy depended on slavery. They said that slavery was their "peculiar institution". That's why they strongly defended slavery. [...]

[...] They were abolitionists. Indeed, the climate in the North was cooler and their farms were smaller. So they did not need slavery as the southerners needed it. At this time, Abraham Lincoln, a republican, thought that the situation about slavery could not continue. The Government could not endure such a situation: a part of the country who wanted to abolish slavery and the other part who wanted to keep the situation as it was. The republican did not approve of slavery but he tried to be neutral before the elections. [...]

[...] Eventually, the Emancipation Proclamation clearly and irrevocably notified the South and the world that the war was being conducted not just to preserve the Union, but to free the slaves. It was an act of justice. However, In order to keep Border States in the Union, Lincoln's proclamation did not apply to them. Then, the Emancipation Proclamation allowed the blacks to join the army and this measure also cheered young citizens to join the army. This was a military necessity for the Union. Bibliography http://www.historynow.org/12_2005/lp3.html http://members.tripod.com/~greatamericanhistory/gr02011.htm http://www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org/inside.asp?ID=39&subjectID=3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865 by William K. [...]

[...] Indeed, it would notify the South that the war was being conducted not just to preserve the union, but also to put an end to the peculiar institution. So, as the nation approached its third year of bloody war, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Despite the fact that the Emancipation Proclamation was limited: slavery was still untouched in the loyal Border States; it had been at the origin of two amendments to the constitution, the first abolished slavery and the second guaranteed civil rights. The Emancipation Proclamation was written by President Abraham Lincoln. [...]

[...] The Fugitive Slave Act was introduced in 1850. Although this law angered the northerners, the southerners were very happy about it. In reaction, some people from the North decided to organize a sort of rebellion. They provided food, money and hiding places to slaves who escaped. But southerners hired Bounty hunters, who purchased fugitive slaves in order to get rewards. Thus, the gap between the north and the south became more and more consequential. Although President Abraham Lincoln wanted to stay neutral confronted with slavery, he could not let such a gross injustice perpetuate. [...]