Emancipation Proclamation Significance

The Emancipation Proclamation was the first official steps and official notice from the Federal Government that it will take the side of Slavery is an unacceptable trade and/or institution. With introduction of the Emancipation Proclamation the United States began its long path and set the foundation for civil rights movements that are still seen today. It also transformed the public relations aspect of the Civil War and provide the North with a more defined objective, which had a potential for success. The timing of the issuance of the proclamation could not have been better to draw support for the North’s cause and be more detrimental in the South’s ability to gain support from within its own boundaries and abroad from other nations. The …show more content…
During the Civil War the proclamation was not the first of its kind to be submitted during the war. There were two other attempts made by congress to enact similar acts that justified the seizure of property from the rebellion to include slaves. The First Confiscation Act was passed in August 1861 by congress, which authorized confiscation of property and slaves that were used in the rebellion against the Federal Government.1 The first order was revoked by Abraham Lincoln along with a second unauthorized proclamation in May of 1862. Abraham Lincoln feared that with the unstable border slave states of the Union the proclamations would sway them to rebel and add to the South’s support.2 Finally Abraham Lincoln introduced his first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation stalling Congress’s Second Confiscation Act.3 President Lincoln now waited for a moment in the war that would put the North in a view of strength over the South and issue the Emancipation Proclamation that was controversial even within the Union. By waiting for the victory at the Battle of Antietam President Lincoln had a major victory to use to strengthen the Union and unify the Union under one ideology that is the Emancipation …show more content…
The proclamation also turned the war into the favor of the North by unification for a more defined objective and an increase in black troops willing to fight in the war allowing the North to win the numbers game. The issuance of the proclamation was a great example of Presidential executive power and demonstrates one of the few times such demonstration of power resulted in a positive effect on equality not only in the United States, but also help guide international intolerance of slavery. The proclamation set the foundation for the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment, which became the framework for the civil rights movement in the