History Help!!?

Question

What effects did the Emancipation Proclamation have on the civil war?

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Answer 1

Emancipation Proclamation

(1863) Edict issued by U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln that freed the slaves of the Confederacy. On taking office, Lincoln was concerned with preserving the Union and wanted only to prevent slavery from expanding into the Western territories; but, after the South seceded, there was no political reason to tolerate slavery. In September 1862 he called on the seceded states to return to the Union or have their slaves declared free. When no state returned, he issued the proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. The edict had no power in the Confederacy, but it provided moral inspiration for the North and discouraged European countries from supporting the South. It also had the practical effect of permitting recruitment of African Americans for the Union army; by 1865 nearly 180,000 African American soldiers had enlisted. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865, officially abolished slavery in the entire country.

Answer 2

The Emancipation Proclamation gave the North not only a reason to fight in the Civil War solely to reunite the country but rather as a more "emotional" level and that is to abolish slavery in itself. If you read the Emancipation it really states that the slaveholding states are free from this decree but at that time already, the South became it's own "country." Therefore it did not really hold any affect to it. Lincoln gave this in order to show France and other countries that this was infact a Civil War and not a revolution and therefore keeping them out of the war.

Answer 3

Politically, it was an extremely smart move for Lincoln. All of a sudden he was availing himself of a group of people who until then had only been able to work on platations and serve their masters. Now he had a completely new army of people fighting for his side, and they helped in large part for him to win the war.