Position:Home>History> What exactly is the Emancipation Proclamation?

The Emancipation Proclamation consists of two executive orders issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War!. The first one, issued September 22, 1862, declared the freedom of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America that did not return to Union control by January 1, 1863!. The second order, issued January 1, 1863, named the specific states where it applied!.

More info from Wikipedia:
http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Emancipatio!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Issued September 22, 1862 by President Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation was a document that declared that on January 1, 1863, the people held as slaves in any territory of the Confederate States of America would become free!. It did not affect slaves held in any of the border states of Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia, as these stated had not left the union!. Neither did it affect areas of southern states that had left the union but were then under control of the federal armies!. The remaining slaves in the United States were freed by the 13th amendment to the U!.S!. Constitution ratified om December 6, 1865!.

The proclamation largely shifted the aim of the war from a vague preservation of the union to the more concrete notion of ending slavery!. This had a great affect in Americas' international relations as Britain amd France, which were prone to support the south because of economic ties, now could not due to the fact that they themselves had already renounced slavery!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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The emancipation proclamation is a document signed by Abraham Lincoln declaring an end to slavery and immediate liberty for slaves in America!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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i think it is what lincoln passed as a law freeing the slaves !.like the gettysburg addressWww@QuestionHome@Com

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The Emancipation Proclamation is one of the most interesting items in U!.S!. history!. It is a military document issued by President Lincoln, written by hand on only four and one-half sheets of paper!. He had found an ingenious way to accomplish several supreme acts at once!. But it's not easy to explain in a few sentences, so I'll give it more length!.

Think about it this way!. The presidency is a very weak office inside the United States!. It was designed that way because of thousands of years of abuse by kings!. Therefore the president has no power to make U!.S!. law, no power to judge those who break laws, but mainly must enforce laws passed by Congress!.

Outside the United States, it is an entirely different matter!. Because the U!.S!. Constitution makes the president "commander in chief," the president has near-dictatorial powers over any group at war with the United States!. Even more power than 19th-century kings had, for they had to deal with their parliaments!. Under military law (martial law), the president can make rulings that will help win the war (within the restrictions of the military code), and can use the whole army to enforce them!. He does not need approval from Congress, nor from anyone else!.

To make this clear, think about it today!. Could a president today legally say something like, "I've decided there is too much careless reporting by the news media on TV!. From now on all news stories about the government must be submitted to the White House for approval before they are aired!." Well, of course not!. The president has sworn to preserve and protect the Constitution, and the Constitution protects freedom of speech and the press!. The president has no power to change the Constitution, nor even any law passed by Congress!.

Similar restrictions applied to President Lincoln!. He could not abolish slavery; slavery was then allowed by the constitution (though not very explicitly)!. In his official duties within the United States, he actually was required by law to protect slavery! Protecting slavery was against his moral beliefs, but nonetheless it was his job!. (Many modern cynics think Lincoln was not opposed to slavery, but they have not read his words very completely or carefully!.)

Outside the United States Lincoln could apply military law!. He could actually make the law! And he could enforce it with the whole of his army!. That's what he did in the Emancipation Proclamation!. He wrote, by "the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief !.!.!. as a fit and necessary war measure !.!.!. I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States !.!.!. are, and henceforward shall be, free !.!.!." Then he ordered the military to "maintain the freedom of said persons!."

Now you see how the Emancipation Proclamation was essentially a military document!. The President could free slaves in states at war with the United States, where his military powers applied, but not within the United States, where his presidential duties applied!. With the Emancipation Proclamation, President Lincoln legally and ingeniously bypassed the Constitution for a great good!. He accomplished what he never could have accomplished if the states in rebellion had decided to stay inside the Union!.

What he accomplished was: (1) Fulfilling his own long-held belief that slavery was a great evil!. (2) Changing the Civil War from an abstract cause to preserve the Union into a fight for the freedom of a people!. (3) Sending a message of hope for a future to all slaves across the country!. (4) Making it difficult for foreign powers to come to the aid of the states in rebellion, because those foreign powers already had laws opposing slavery!. (5) Opening the possibility for additional troops, if any freed slaves would abandon their former masters and join forces with the Union!.

So what Lincoln created was a win-win situation!. Actually a five-way win-win-win-win-win situation!. Many people get confused when they see more than one reason for something!. They think, one of these must be the "real reason" and the others must be "false reasons" just to fool people!. Don't fall into that illogical trap!. Things work well when there are multiple reasons driving them!. Lincoln did what he did because it was possible, because it was moral, because it was practical, because it gave hope to the country -- he did it for all these reasons at the same time!. He did it, by the way, against the strong advice of his advisors!.

That's the basic story!. Hope my answer helps a little!. Don't be annoyed!. Learning history is very tough, but very important!. Good luck in your home schooling!.

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By the middle of 1862 it was clear to all in the north that the war was not going to be over quickly (as had been thought when it began)!. In both the eastern and western theatres the Confederacy had clearly and bloodily demonstrated that she could and would defend her declared borders!.

The cotton produced by the southern states was critical to the mills and looms of both Britain and France and although there was currently a glut of cotton in British warehouses, Lincoln foresaw that the need for cotton might eventually push Britain and France into the arms of the Confederacy!. During the second-half of 1862 he searched hard for a political way to prevent Britain or France from recognising the Confederacy!.

The Emancipation Proclamation was his solution!. It did not free any slaves at all since it applied only "in states then in rebellion against the government" who of course ignored it, and it's terms did not affect the few slaves used in the north!. What it did do was exactly what Lincoln had intended, it prevented Britain or France from ever recognising the Confederacy as long as they maintained slavery!. Neither of these countries could be seen to recognise a country that was now clearly fighting to maintain slavery against the wishes of the "former" government!.

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