In Allen C. Guelzo’s essay, his thesis was that Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was a big part of the reason why the slaves are no longer slaves and are now free. For if the Emancipation Proclamation did not exist, the slaves who have escaped would not be free for very long. Therefore, Abraham Lincoln was committed to freeing the slaves within the United States and played a very large role in doing so. In Guelzo’s essay he states that “Without the Proclamation, the Confederacy even in defeat would have retained legal title to its slaves” (Guelzo, 357). The Emancipation Proclamation was considered one of the most revolutionary pronouncement and was very helpful to move the United States towards the elimination of slavery. Abraham
…show more content…
They wanted a change and because nothing was changing, they worked to make a difference. In Harding’s essay he states that “As usual, black people were prepared to take advantage of every disruption in the life of the oppressing white community. When they heard the guns, they were ready, grasping freedom with their own hands, walking to it, swimming to it, sailing to it- determined that it should be theirs” (Harding, 364). Slaves took every chance they were given to make it to freedom. Many of them risked their lives, hoping that they would eventually obtain freedom for their family and themselves. At any word of a safe place, the slaves would try to leave to reach the destination no matter what the cost, “In Louisiana two families waded six miles across a swamp, ‘spending two days and nights in mud and water to their waists, children clinging to their backs, and with nothing to eat’” (Harding, 362). The African Americans decided not to wait for anyone to abolish slavery and free them, they freed himself through dedication and the will to be free. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation hoped to free the slaves and promoted more power to keep the slaves free. But the problem with Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation was that “In effect, Lincoln, was announcing freedom to the captives
They wanted a change and because nothing was changing, they worked to make a difference. In Harding’s essay he states that “As usual, black people were prepared to take advantage of every disruption in the life of the oppressing white community. When they heard the guns, they were ready, grasping freedom with their own hands, walking to it, swimming to it, sailing to it- determined that it should be theirs” (Harding, 364). Slaves took every chance they were given to make it to freedom. Many of them risked their lives, hoping that they would eventually obtain freedom for their family and themselves. At any word of a safe place, the slaves would try to leave to reach the destination no matter what the cost, “In Louisiana two families waded six miles across a swamp, ‘spending two days and nights in mud and water to their waists, children clinging to their backs, and with nothing to eat’” (Harding, 362). The African Americans decided not to wait for anyone to abolish slavery and free them, they freed himself through dedication and the will to be free. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation hoped to free the slaves and promoted more power to keep the slaves free. But the problem with Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation was that “In effect, Lincoln, was announcing freedom to the captives