The Emancipation Proclamation

Emancipation Proclamation Issued September 22, 1862 What Abraham Lincoln stated: Emancipation 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…”

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation changed the very nature of the war, giving it a completely new objective Reconciliation was no longer an option Represented a move toward total war The North was now not merely fighting to restore a union it thought was never legitimately separated. It was fighting for freedom of a race. The South was no longer fighting merely for independence. It was fighting for survival of its way of life.

Diplomatic Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation The South had longed hoped for European (England or France) recognition and intervention The Emancipation Proclamation made that virtually impossible because England had abolished slavery in 1833 and France in 1848 John Slidell represented the Confederacy in France

Impact of Emancipation Proclamation on Confederate Diplomatic Efforts “… the feeling against slavery in England is so strong that no public man there dares extend a hand to help us… There is no government in Europe that dares help us in a struggle which can be suspected of having for its result, directly or indirectly, the fortification or perpetuation of slavery. Of that I am certain” William Yancey, Confederate politician

Summary of the Emancipation Proclamation All enslaved people living in states fighting against the Union were declared free. The Proclamation did not apply to the Border states who had not seceded. Since slavery had been abolished in the free states, and since the South at the time did not recognize themselves as being part of the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation technically did not free a single slave. Lincoln issued the Proclamation for the following reasons: 1. it gave moral purpose to the War, making it impossible for England and France to support the Confederacy. 2. It freed slaves only in the Confederacy, providing an incentive to slave- holding border states to stay in the Union 3. It weakened the Confederacy by giving slaves an incentive to escape and join Union forces. 4. It elevated the war to more than just saving the Union- it now became a moral struggle to end slavery. While the Emancipation Proclamation did not technically free any slaves, it gave Lincoln the assurance that France and England would remain out of the war. Emancipation Proclamation

Student Practice/Application 1. Read pages 524-527 in your American History textbook. 2. Complete all Checkpoint questions. 3. Complete Check Your Progress questions 1-2 on page 527 of your American History textbook. 4. Complete your Exit Ticket Question