Abraham Lincoln signed an executive decree known as the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It announced the liberation of slaves in the eleven Confederate states that were still in uprising. Additionally, it ruled that liberated slaves might join the Union Army, adding to the army's numbers. Although the Proclamation did not technically condemn slavery or liberate the slaves in the Union states that still allowed it, it was a significant step toward its abolition and the awarding of American citizenship to former slaves. The Proclamation expanded the objectives of the Union war effort by explicitly including the abolition of slavery in addition to the nation's reunification.
The Proclamation also barred the involvement of European armies in the conflict on the side of the Confederacy. The Emancipation Proclamation established the elimination of slavery as a goal for the Union, which made support for the Confederacy synonymous with support for slavery. Lincoln had believed that the Proclamation would help the Union by obtaining the backing of European nations that had previously banned slavery. The Confederacy's ambitions of receiving official recognition from European heads of state were largely dashed by it.
The importance of the Emancipation Proclamation's immediate impact on four significant American groups—the Confederate States, the Union States, the Union Army, and black Americans—is illustrated in this lesson.
Thanks,
Eddie