Question

Evaluate the extent of change in ideas about emancipation during the Civil War.

Answer 1

The Emancipation Proclamation marked a significant change in the Union's goal towards emancipation during the Civil War. It provided the Union with military, diplomatic, and manpower advantages, but only applied to states in rebellion against the Union at the time. The actions of African Americans helped make the war about freedom and citizenship.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Emancipation Proclamation was a significant turning point in the Civil War as it marked a shift in the Union's goal towards emancipation and freedom for enslaved African Americans. Initially, President Abraham Lincoln and many Republicans opposed enlisting free blacks in the Union army and viewed Lincoln as indecisive on the issue of emancipation. However, as the war dragged on and the Union cause struggled, Lincoln began to embrace emancipation as a war measure.

Several factors influenced Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. One reason was the military advantage it would provide the Union by depriving the South of its labor force. Additionally, the proclamation would open the door for African Americans to join the Union army, thereby increasing the available manpower. Diplomatically, embracing emancipation would also make it difficult for Britain, which had a strong anti-slavery sentiment, to support the pro-slavery South.

The Emancipation Proclamation, however, only applied to states that were still in rebellion against the Union at the time it was issued. While it did not free all slaves in the North and South, it redefined the meaning of the Civil War and made it a war about emancipation, freedom, and citizenship. The actions of African Americans, both soldiers and civilians, played a vital role in shifting the focus of the war towards emancipation.

Answer 2

In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order that freed the slaves in the Confederate states.

Step-by-step explanation:

• The Emancipation Proclamation was, notably, not passed by Congress, but by President Lincoln using his war powers.

• Many immigrants in the North viewed freed slaves as competition for scarce jobs and as the reason the Civil War was being fought.

• President Lincoln and other Republicans were concerned that the Emancipation Proclamation would be seen as a temporary war measure because it was solely based on Lincoln’s war powers.

• The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution officially outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the 10 states then in rebellion, applying to 3.1 million of the 4 million slaves in the United States at that time. The Proclamation immediately freed 50,000 slaves, with nearly all of the rest of the 3.1 million freed as Union armies advanced. The Proclamation did not compensate the owners, outlaw slavery, or grant ex-slaves, called ” freedmen,” citizenship.