Emancipation Proclamation Slaves

Emancipation Proclamation SlavesEmancipation Proclamation SlavesWhat events mold the writing of the Emancipation Proclamation? Emancipation was non a unseasoned idea in the world. Many countries had freed the slaves earlier in the 1800s even passing into the 1830s for the British slaves. This may have caused a fear on the move of the pro sla very(prenominal) people. Because of this, the slave owners in the s erupth desireed a ban on slaves coming from the West Indies and other places where slaves were being freed. The Emancipation Proclamation did non come easy to President capital of Nebraska. The President took over two age to come to the stand that there was even a guide for such a docu workforcet. In that time there was pressure coming from both(prenominal) sides of the issue at President capital of Nebraska. Many events guide to the announcement. What drove capital of Nebraska to fin onlyy write it? Did he sense of smell an obligation to free the slaves? Was it a stance to take to keep the coupling engaged in the state of war? Was it pressure from his commonplaces and political figures? Some might be astonished that Abraham capital of Nebraska wrote the Emancipation Proclamation based on his non-action on the slavery issue. gutter H. Franklin noted in his book on the Emancipation Proclamation, In his beginning(a) address President capital of Nebraska tell that he had no purpose, with start delay or indirectly, to interfere with slavery where it exists. due to federalist principles, capital of Nebraska did not feel that it was his place, as president to intervene with an issue that he entangle was a state matter. capital of Nebraska did question slavery in the territories. You can absorb this back to the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. Suppose, he queried, the people of a territory should vote slavery down? The Supreme solicit in the Dred Scott decision had decreed that they could not. Who would prevail, the tribunal of or the p eople? We know from history that slave states did not want to be outnumbered by free states. No matter how the Supreme Court ruled, Douglas argued, slavery would stay down if the people voted it down. This is supported by the more of the abolitionists of the day.President Lincoln felt pressure for freedom from a fewer avenues. Early in 1861, Senator Lyman Trumbull, from Illinois, brought pressure with the introduction of the arrogation Act. Trumbull stated, contrabands would no overnight be slaves if and only if they had been employed by the Confederate armed services. relation back felt that the slaves could be used as a tool against the Confederacy, repayable to their dependency on them and the view that slaves are p roundrty.After the publishing of the beginning Confiscation Act, pressure escalated even more for emancipation. Lincolns Secretary of war, Simon Cameron, believed it to be in the best interest of the North to, emancipate the slaves, and arm them. This caused a far-flung debate because Cameron did not issue this report to the president he circulated it to the postmasters. Lincoln was not pleased with this, which was a contri preciselying factor to Camerons replace manpowert with Edwin M. Stanton. accept that the war with the South would be over rather quickly, Lincoln did not feel a need to deal with the slavery issue, thinking the Union would reunite as status quo.Cameron would not be the only someone Lincoln had to replace. worldwide John Charles Fremont sought to end Missouris neutrality. Fremont issued martial law, and declared that both slaves should be set free in Missouri. This put Lincoln in the position of asking Fremont to modify his contract to con variance to the Confiscation Act. Fremont refused to do so and the President made it an order. Fremont was ultimately relieved of ascendence due to the conflict. This may have expanded the minds of emancipation in Lincolns mind, but more pressure would emerge from Congressman Thaddeus Stevens.Stevens introduced a bill, asking Lincoln to emancipate all slaves who leave their masters, or who shall aid in the inhibit the rebellion. If this action was followed through, it could be looked upon at as Congress attempting to take the emancipation question out of the hands of Lincoln. This did not sway Lincoln he just reminded them that they must answer for their actions. Lincoln did grant, freedom to all shoo-in slaves in Union armed forces camps and acknowledged that the government would be responsible for their welfare. This provided a split avenue for Lincoln to pursue he did not give outright emancipation to all, but granted freedom to slaves that were adding the Union, and allowed them to re of import free. Lincoln still had paths he could choose from, keeping his options open, Lincoln vowed at the end of his annual message to employ all indispensable government agency including emancipation- to preserve the union. Preserving the union, again, was h is ultimate goal, and we would be shown that Lincoln would consider all avenues to cause it.After the emancipation attempt by Stevens, Senator Turnbull introduced a second arrogation act. More intense than the first, it was adamant in seizing and confiscating anything the Union Army could obtain when defeating the Confederacy. Not only did it stick it to the South, but allowed an influx of freed slaves as troops into the Union soldiers. Before Union officers could return runaway slaves to their owners, administration hearings were held to determine the loyalties of the slave owners. The bill also provided cash to establish colonies for the freed slaves, outside of the United States, to keep from disrupting white society. The act proposed that the confiscation be interpreted legally, in addition to whatever items the federal armies deemed of value on their raids of the rebels. By establishing freed slave colonies outside of the United States, Northerners who feared freed slaves w ere set at ease. This act was very important in the building of the road to emancipation, setting the precedence that freed slaves could be inducted into Union Armies, and employing the use of colonies that Lincoln would ask for, and be granted by Congress.In Lincolns view, graduated emancipation would be best for the country, allowing citizens to become easily introduced to the idea. Lincoln thought that slavery was the disease of the entire nation and all must share in the suffering of its removal. Lincoln also thought that gradual emancipation would allow the border states a way out of the war, which would then shorten the war because the confederates would have very few men and supplies with out the supply rich states of Virginia. Lincoln had another Union general attempt to force his hand on the issue emancipation from General David Hunter. A strong supporter of infusing blacks into the army, he issued a proclamation, General score 11, emancipating all slaves in the states o f South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. He did not clear his decision with the president, and consequently the President was furious. The president refused to allow any military official to usurp his authority on emancipation. Lincoln was set on establishing that emancipation was an executive decision, to be made by the president, not Union generals or anyone else. Military losses began to pressure Lincoln as well. The Union forces chuck out the Peninsula Campaign as a costly failure, and Lincoln temporarily prone McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac-though Lees army had suffered some twenty gee casualties to McClellans ten thousand. The Confederate army would win several more battles, displace more pressure on Lincoln, who still wanted a gradual emancipation knew it was time to act, if for any reason, to replenish lost forces. The Union setbacks in Virginia had persuaded Lincoln to take the first tentative step toward emancipation. Things had gone form bad to worse , Lincoln later recalled, until I felt that we had reached the end of our rope on the plan of operations we had been pursuing that we had about played our last card, and must change tactics, or lose the game. This was Lincoln endorsing an approach to a new military strategy, after so many previous setbacks. Lincoln wanted a statement, possibly a large victory for the Union, to plunge the emancipation. Lincoln would look to Antietam, a draw more than a victory. crashing(a) Antietam was also the long-awaited victory that Lincoln need for launching his Emancipation Proclamation. Antietam served as the needed emancipation springboard. The halting of Lees offensive was just enough of a victory to justify Lincolns issuing, on September 23, 1862, the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln felt that this was the right time to issue it, with the Confederate army retreating to Virginia. wholeness of Lincolns hopes, in issuing the Preliminary Proclamation was to deprive the South of its slave labor force, thus undermining the military effectiveness of the Confederacy. If slaves left their southern plantations, many farmers would not be able to harvest their crops fighting southern men would worry about family back home, possibly deserting the Confederate army to go home and protect what is left.The final proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863. Note that in the final declaration, there is no mention of colonization or compensation. Due to Congress controlling all aspects of the budget, Lincoln may have felt that he could not get those two resolutions through the legislative branch. In the document itself, Lincoln is admitting that he freed the slaves to help him militarily, not on principle. Although he may have felt morally that it was the right thing to do, his main reason was a military need, in the final paragraph of the proclamation that the measure was warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity.In one-way or another all of these events influ enced the Emancipation Proclamation. Ultimately, it was a military need that led to its execution. Lincoln, influenced by Cameron, or Turnbells confiscation acts, may have not though to free slaves for the Union army profit of taking on the rebels. With out edicts from Fremont and Hunter, the president would not have taken as strong a stand as he did, not even making the proclamation a military order, or a military necessity. Though all of these are great factors that contributed, Lincoln was influenced most by the military need to emancipate slaves. Recruitment troubles dictated it to be so, and allowing black soldiers into the Union army eased recruitment. A great document granting freedom and born of military necessity, the Emancipation Proclamation also shows the compassion of President Lincoln.BibliographyBailey, Thomas A., Cohen, Lizabeth, Kennedy, David M. 2006 The American Pageant A History of the Republic, 13th Edition, Volume I To 1877. Houghton Mifflin lodgeFranklin, Joh n H. 1965. The Emancipation Proclamation the Dramatic story of Abraham Lincolns Greatest scroll and its Significance in American History. raw(a) York DoubledayKlingaman, William K. Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation. Viking publishers, New York RoadMcPherson, James M. 1988. Battle Cry of Freedom The Civil War Era. Oxford University Press.Miller, Steven F. 2006. Chronology of Emancipation during the Civil War. http//www.history.umd.edu/Freedmen/chronol.htm (accessed August 24-30, 2008)