Emancipation Act
The most important part of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency was the Emancipation Proclamation. By establishing the abolishment of slavery as Union objective in the Civil War, the Proclamation did three things: it committed the Union goal, it helped the union gain foreign support and it provided the legal framework the eventual freeing of over 4 million African American slaves in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation was a declaration by Abraham Lincoln that suggested the revolutionary idea of freeing all blacks. The Emancipation Proclamation continues to be a symbol of equality and social justice.
Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th President of America on March 4, 1961. The southern states, whose economy depended heavily on slavery, had already made their intentions clear, that if Lincoln won the election of 1860, they will secede from the Union.3 Although Lincoln had repeatedly made it known that he was neither constitutionally authorized to abolish slavery, nor had any plans to do it, the compulsions he faced as the Commander-in-chief of the Union army, persuaded him to free slaves. Abraham Lincoln believed that slavery was morally wrong, and though he had thought that by containing its spread, it will die on its own, the rebellion by the southern states made it necessary for him to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
The southern army used slaves in its war effort to provide the labor for menial chores for the southern army. To counter this, Lincoln declared all slaves were free in the rebellious states. The Emancipation Proclamation had a deep effect on the assumed normal way of life in the radical southern part of what would become the United States. People fighting the war to protect the right of their state against the mighty Federal Government; suddenly found they were fighting for their right to keep slaves. This shift in the paradigm was one of the main effects of the Emancipation Proclamation in the south. As the news of the
Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th President of America on March 4, 1961. The southern states, whose economy depended heavily on slavery, had already made their intentions clear, that if Lincoln won the election of 1860, they will secede from the Union.3 Although Lincoln had repeatedly made it known that he was neither constitutionally authorized to abolish slavery, nor had any plans to do it, the compulsions he faced as the Commander-in-chief of the Union army, persuaded him to free slaves. Abraham Lincoln believed that slavery was morally wrong, and though he had thought that by containing its spread, it will die on its own, the rebellion by the southern states made it necessary for him to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
The southern army used slaves in its war effort to provide the labor for menial chores for the southern army. To counter this, Lincoln declared all slaves were free in the rebellious states. The Emancipation Proclamation had a deep effect on the assumed normal way of life in the radical southern part of what would become the United States. People fighting the war to protect the right of their state against the mighty Federal Government; suddenly found they were fighting for their right to keep slaves. This shift in the paradigm was one of the main effects of the Emancipation Proclamation in the south. As the news of the