Position:Home>History> True or false: lincoln freed the slaves? ?

It is true, as has been stated, that the Emancipation Proclamation did not free any slaves!. It stated that all of the slaves within states in rebellion, and not under Union control, were free!. Obviously, the Southern states were not going to follow this, so no slaves were freed!. But Lincoln, by doing this, did change the war aims of the Union from preservation of the Union to ending slavery!. And, while the 13th amendment was passed after his death, in the last year of the war he was pressing Congress to pass a constitutional amendment ending slavery which would go to the states for ratification once the war was over!. So, while he personally did not free any slaves, he set in motion a series of events which would ultimately result in their freedom!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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False!. Folks always point to the Emancipation Proclamation as freeing the slaves!. But if that were true then it should have affected all slave states!. Lincoln was very careful in his wording of the Emancipation!. It only affected those slaves in areas in open rebellion against the Federal government!. In otherwords, the slaves in Delaware, Maryland, West Viginia, Kentucky, and Missouri, the Union Boarder States, were left in bondage while the slaves in the Confederacy were the only ones affected by the Emancipation!. The problem was, during the war the Confederacy was a seperate nation and the states which made up the Confederacy were not governed by Washington!. So not only was Lincoln's writing of the Emanicpation politically in effective, it could only come into effect when Union forces controlled an area and when the commanding general was willing to enforce it!. Which not all generals were!.

What the Emancipation really was for was to further make the actions of the Confederacy be seen as being illegal!. While it is true that the Confederacy was a seperate nation, unless it won the war it was not an independent nation!. Washington's policies had no actual effect towards governing the Confederacy, but at the same time it was able to claim authority over the states of the Confederacy as they were not yet independent despite seceding and forming their own government!. Thus anything that made the Confederacy's action be viewed as illegal to the rest of the world aided the Union's war effort by ensuring other nations were less likely to ally themselves with the Confederacy militarily!. It also meant there would be more folks willing to join to put down those disobeying the the laws!. Not everyone felt this way, obviously!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I hate to tell you this, because I know you want a definitive answer, but the facts don't support a firm yes or no answer!.

Yes, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which liberated the slaves in the rebellious states!. But it did not liberate the slaves in the slaves states like Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri and Delaware (which did not secede from the union)!. Those slaves remained slaves!. Lincoln's ambition was to save the Union, not liberate slaves!. His decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation was political (and some might say "symbolic" only)!.

Moreover, since the only affected states were in the Confederacy, (where Lincoln's proclamation would obviously be ignored) it had no real effect!.

Slavery was not abolished until the adoption of the 13th Amendment!. And that was passed by Congress (not Lincoln) and adopted by the states after Lincoln's death!.

So did he liberate the slaves!? Yes, and no!. Take your pick!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Lincoln, personally, never freed any slaves, as he did not have the legal power to do so before the war and his hope was that the war would be short so there was no necessity for doing so!. After the slow progress of the war, it became a necessity, thus enabling his war powers to make the Emancipation Proclamation!.

Slavery in the District of Columbia ended on April 16, 1862, when President Lincoln signed a law passed by Congress that provided for compensation to slave owners!. An Emancipation Claims Commission hired a Baltimore slave trader to assess the value of each freed slave, and awarded compensation for 2,989 slaves!.

Lincoln did not free all of the slaves, but he was one of the largest contributors to the freeing of the slaves!. Wherever Union forces went in slave states, slaves(considered contraband property and thus liable for confiscation from their warring owners) were freed and where possible protected from retribution and reclamation by their owners!.

Lincoln also called on Congress to draw up and pass on to the states for ratification, the 13th amendment, The 13th Amendment, which prohibits slavery, was proposed on January 31, 1865!. and officially ratified by the requisite amount of states on December 6, 1865 in 309 days!.

Mississippi did not ratify the amendment until 1995, but because the state never officially notified the US Archivist, the ratification is not considered to be official!.

whaleWww@QuestionHome@Com

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Actually, i would say No, Lincoln did not free the slaves!. i have two main reasons:
First, the Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln freed slaves only in the Confederacy states that were at war with the Union!. It did not free slaves in border states like Missouri, Kentucky(!?) etc!. It did not matter whether he freed them or not, because those states were under the rule of CSA, not USA!. And the proclamation did not increase the amount of runaway slaves!. it was something to make one feel better!.
Secondly the civil war was about saving the union, not freeing the slaves!. Lincoln, when sworn in as the president, had no intention to abolish slavery in the South!. Instead, he wanted to stop it from spreading!.
Now, it is upon you to decide!.
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I'll say true!. Lincoln issued the empactation proclamation which only freed slaves in rebellious states, which ended up not really working but snaps for effort!. However he was the leader of the winning side that did free the slaves!. Which kinda ended up not working (conditons for blacks actually worsened after the war) but it's not Lincoln's fault, he was dead!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Although the Civil War was fought to preserve the union of the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln did serve to free slaves in several states (although many of the border states retained their slaves)!. Ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on December 18, 1865 officially ended slavery in the US however!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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False, an act of congress freed the slaves by way of the Emancipation and the 13th Amendment!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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