Question: How did the Emancipation Proclamation change the meaning of the Civil War?
Options:
- By freeing Southern troops from their military commitments so they could return home
- By eliminating slavery in the Confederate states
- By securing voting rights for black property holders in both the North and South
- By eliminating slavery in new states and territories
Answer: The correct answer is: By eliminating slavery in the Confederate states.
Explanation: President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, as the third year of bloody civil war was approaching. In his speech, he explained that this proclamation declared "all persons held as slaves (within the rebellious states) are, and henceforward shall be free." It took the enactment of the 13th Amendment to make it the law of the land.
The rebellious states were known as the confederate states. These states were a collection of 11 states that seceded from the United States in 1860 following the election of President Abraham Lincoln. They existed from 1861 to 1865 and were led by Jefferson Davis.
By creating the Emancipation Proclamation, he was freeing slaves in the Confederacy which meant Lincoln was actually freeing people he did not directly control. The Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation but it captured the hearts of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. The war was no longer focused on just preserving the Union but it was also about freeing the slaves. This means it wasn’t a turning point materially so much as it was morally.