Why did president Lincoln emancipate the slaves?

Question

I wonder if the reason was to bring blacks into the military.
I think the North was running out of soldiers and needed replacements and the fastest soloution was to allow black soldiers to serve in combat?
This is a real question that I am looking for an answer to.
Historians help me out here.

thanks for the good responses. I am looking for the deeper possibly unspoken reasons that might not appear in the history books

Desigirl 64 -- did you actually read the question?

Read Andrew R's answer he's got the right idea

Answer 1

The true reason was to benefit his own public image. After the heavy losses of life at Gettysburg, he needed to provide a moral push. The Emancipation Proclimation had no effect in the grand scheme of things. Lincoln was a free-soiler, he did not want to get rid of slavery as many believe, he just wanted to contain it in the South and prevent it from spreading further. The Emancipation stated that the slaves in the Confederate States were free. Think about it, if you're fighting to keep slavery are you going to let your slaves know that they were freed by a nation you no longer yield authority to? No. Think about the concept of a nation decreeing policy for another. It doesn't work. It's like Canada telling us that America is no longer allowed to have Apple Pie. It just doesn't work, there is not yield of authority, or recognition of authority for that fact. The "border states" were allowed to keep the practice of slavery. So the Emancipation was a publicity stunt in all theroy. It was a morale boost pretty much saying, the goal of the abolitionist was complete (though it wasn't).

Answer 2

First the Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave. It applied only to areas controlled by the confederacy. Slaves in the North and areas controlled in the South by the army remained slaves. What it did do was to place the United States on the moral high ground. Both France and England were considering recognizing the confederates. This would have provided the South with many benefits and create a possible second front Canada. However, both nations had taken the lead in eradicating slavery. The North was now committed to ending slavery. The confederacy had enshrined slavery in it's constitution. Neither England or France could now recognize the confederacy without having voters turning the government out. As an side, the confederacy wasn't a separate country. In "Texas vs White" the Supreme Court found succession to be unconstitutional. No state had a legal right to leave the union.

Answer 3

The reason he did it was to prevent the British from joining forces with the confederacy. Britain had outlawed slavery several years before the US Civil War. Britain really didn't differentiate between the north and the south and saw it as an opportunity to reclaim land in North America. The south seemed to have the better strategy and probably would win with the financial and military backing of Britain. Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation to differentiate the north from the south. After the north promised to free the slaves, Britain's government could not side with the south because it would anger the people in Britain where the subject of slavery was still really sore. This is why Lincoln was such a brilliant president, he turned the tide of war with words. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

If you read the Emacipation Proclaimation. It only frees those slaves in the states which seceded from the nation.

There is no doubt that this proclaimation resulted in the Ammedment AFTER the Civil War that did abolish slavery.

But at the time of the statement, there were still 4 states that legally allowed slavery: Maryland, Kentucky, West Virginia (which seceded from Virginia as a result of the Civil War and Missouri?--it's been a while since I wrote about this). This continued until well after the South surrendered.

Lincoln sought to win popular support for the war (WMD in Iraq sound familiar) and the North hated slavery because it was cheap labor and immoral. He could not however free the slaves in Maryland and the other 3 states because he surely would have lost the war if he had. Not to mention then Washington D.C. would have been in the South.

Answer 5

Exeter is a dolt. Lincoln was a Republican! The Southern Democrats were the group that didn't want to free the slaves, and also the group that didn't want to integrate the schools in the 1960's.

All the Democrats do is keep the black communoty poor so they'll have a pool of voters.

Answer 6

In my opinion it was to stop the southerners and bankrupt them by making them have to hire people to do there farm work...trouble was there was a shortage in labour due to the war, without slaves the southerners didn't have a chance of getting rich and providing money for their army...it was more about breaking the southerners control of the market and taking away there free labour...its pretty much about money and politics and what the Northern states could do to the southern states. Freedom was another reason, but mainly it was to slow down the production of food and utilities for the grey armies...

Answer 7

He freed the slaves because it was the right thing to do. The Civil War was fought over slavery. How could he know, before the war started, that he would need black soldiers?

Answer 8

look in the history books to find the right answer but I think he did it because it was the right thing to do, and the war was fought over the south keeping slaves so I don't think he just wanted more men in his army, but you are right the south would have won that war if they had, had enough food, they were starving so they stared to just leave and go home, and the union army just walked into the south and took over.hows that for a history lesson?

Answer 9

Because the a couple of state withdrew , he enforced the emancipation proclamation which freed slaves in only the states that seceded.

Answer 10

look, we should not have slaves!!!!!! servants maybe, but not slaves...u CANNOT use other human beings against force to work for you. this is wrong. if they volunteer to, that does differ. blacks....why do we not like them? because we're the superior? no...its not that. its because we feel that we have the right just on account of we are richer and they lack wealth. its just wrong. if u want slaves that much, use your own perople. use your family.. i dont think u would. u want to use people u think are usless. i dont think its because we needed people in the army i think its because he came out of the darkness and started acting like a human instead of the monsters whites were at a point in history..............