Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves” in the territory controlled by the rebellious states of the Confederacy “are, and henceforward shall be free” (Paragraph 2). With the stroke of a pen, President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation changed the aims of the Civil War. It was initially fought only for the preservation of the Union; now, the Union fought to end slavery in the United States and to realize the Declaration of Independence’s claim that “all men are created free and equal” (“Declaration of Independence: A Transcription.” Archives.gov). The shift in the war’s aim and purpose was clear, even though the text of the proclamation itself was limited in scope. Contemporary observers recognized that once slavery no longer existed in the stronghold of the Southern states, it would not prevail, either, in the border states.

The Emancipation Proclamation marked an important step on the way to the abolition of slavery, and it was celebrated for the first 100 years or so after its issuance with more fervor than the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery itself. Lincoln himself said at the time of signing it, “If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it” (“Emancipation Proclamation.” Archives.gov).

Long before the Civil War, Lincoln felt strongly that the institution of slavery was wrong, and he expected it to be eliminated gradually, realizing the promise of freedom put forth by the Founders. As far back as 1854, Lincoln said in a debate on the topic of slavery and the Missouri Compromise, “Shall that institution, which carries a rot and a murrain in it, claim any right, by the law of nature, to stand by the side of Freedom, on a Soil that is free?” (“Speech at Springfield, Illinois”). He continued, “The theory of our government is Universal Freedom. ‘All men are created free and equal,’ says the Declaration of Independence.” Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery to states where it did not exist, and he worked quietly for its diminishment and eventual abolition in those places where it did exist. Lincoln’s understanding of the Constitution didn’t allow the federal government to wipe away slavery, and therefore it had to be solved through many small steps.

His gradualism, without a clear path to victory, put Lincoln on the outs with some in the abolition movement who wanted an immediate end to slavery, although others recognized in Lincoln a keen politician and ally who simply kept his cards close to his chest. When things came to a head with the Civil War, Lincoln eventually recognized that it was an opportunity to make a bold move on the part of the federal government, and that it would have widespread support.

The proclamation didn’t end slavery, but it rang its death knell. As Union soldiers advanced through the South, they would read the proclamation aloud to the newly freed people. In his autobiography Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington recalls hearing the Emancipation Proclamation read by a soldier on the Virginia plantation where he lived with his family, and his mother was in tears. The proclamation also invited Black men to join the Union Army to fight against the Confederacy, and more than 180,000 men did so. Finally, the proclamation paved the way for the passage of the 13th Amendment of 1865 that abolished slavery in the United States.