Slavery was legal in America before the year 1863 when the president Abraham Lincoln proclaimed emancipation to set the slaves free. The Confederate states were staunch supporters of slavery despite several interventions from the union states led by Abraham Lincoln. According to history, slavery contributed largely to civil war in the country. Abraham Lincoln was against slavery. He felt it was unjust for the African Americas to getan inhumantreatment from their masters. The president did not act initially because he was in command of the armed forces some of which were from the Confederate states. However, the civil war made it easy for the president to pressure for the slavery freedom in the county. Before the civil war, the aim was to stop the rapid spread of slavery into western territories that were to become states within the union territories ( Schwartz, 2015). However, the secession between the northerners and the southerners sped the need to free the slaves. Further, there was no negation between the south and the north regardingthe freedom of the slaves since the civil war had already begun. As a result, the union had begun to fight the conservative politics. The call for the proclamation of emancipation was thus, urgent. On the same note, Lincoln made an announcement that would later save the slavery. According to the president, his heart was with the union, and he was ready to preserve them whether by destroying the slavery, by preserving the slavery or by destroying one part and saving another.
The determination and the support the president had as well as the pressure from the union were great factors towards the proclamation of emancipation. Other than these, theConfederates were also using the slaves as power anda tool during the civil war. The slaves were charged with simple’s duties that played a significant role in advancing the battle towards the unions. They were laborious who also worked in ammunition factories. They were bringing food and clothes for the soldiers and thus, were an additionalstrength to the Confederates. As a result, Lincoln knew that by setting the slaves free, it was not just a matter of stripping the confederates their valuable resources, but part of their army was being taken away. The decision would weaken the confederates and work against them. In Septemberthe year 1862, the president issue emancipation, and urged the revolting states to go back to their allegiances less, their slaves would be set free. Nearly all the revolting states did not take the call seriously, and as a result, none of them was willing to move. The president later reacted by issuing another threat emancipation ( West, 2017). Notably, the president was powerless by then to act directly or declare emancipation because he was the commander in charge of all the USA forces and Navy. This would have divided the army, and the result was not predictable since there was civil war ongoing. Further, the president could not declare emancipation since he was entirely restricted to his regional states. The emancipation proclamation was mainly affecting the Confederates, and it was less wise to act in such a manner.
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There were grueling effects upon the declaration of the emancipation, and the Confederates were on the receiving side. First, many slaves escaped and fled to the unions where a good number of them were given the freedom to join the army and fight the Confederates. Further, the emancipation had international effects. Remember, the Confederates were staunchconservatives of the culture, and as a result, their many sources of income was firming, mostly cotton farming. There existed an international trade between the confederate’s government and other countries such as French and England. The Confederategovernment was the primary source cotton in the world. Due to civil war, the cotton supply to other nations was locked, and the Confederates were confident that the affected countries mostly, France and England, would join the battle and back them up. However, the freedom of the slavewas a massive blow since they were the laborers at the cotton farms and factories. Their freedom meant that the Confederates were losing labor and the cotton supply would feel the ripple effects. The two nations thus did not join the war.
A significant effect of the emancipation was the recruitment of black soldiers to the Union army. When the president gave the African Americans the chance to join the military, they impressively responded, and nearly 180,000 of them got the chance to be part of the Union army that fought the Confederates. They played a vital role in the union in the war. The emancipation was a mere declaration, and thus, it was not in the constitution. As a result, it was easy for the Confederates to come up with a motion to abandon it and use other laws that were constitutionally right after the civil war ( Carrington, 2017). As a result, there was a need of the constitutional amendment to seal the fate of emancipation. The president and his entire team then switched their focus on the constitutional amendment to back the declaration of emancipation up. This later resulted in the 13 th constitutional amendment.
References
Carrington, A. M. (2017). Running the Robed Gauntlet: Southern State Courts’ Interpretation of the Emancipation Proclamation. American Journal of Legal History , 57 (4), 556-584.
West, E. (2017). African Americans; Chinese Exclusion Acts; Frederick Douglass; Emancipation Proclamation; Freedmen's Bureau; fugitive slave laws; slave revolts; Nat Turner; Underground Railroad.
Schwartz, B. (2015). The Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln’s Many Second Thoughts. Society , 52 (6), 590-603.
