The Battle Of Antietam: Turning Point In The Civil War

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The battle of Antietam was more than the bloodiest day in the history of the United States. In fact, without this battle, the states might not have been reunited during the Civil War. The battle of Antietam was the fundamental “turning point” in the war for three major reasons. First, the media attention the battle received changed the morale of the people drastically. Secondly, until this point, the war had not had a certain victor which was causing European countries to be indecisive as to if they should give support to Confederacy. Finally, it allowed for Abraham Lincoln to give the Emancipation Proclamation which added to the weakening of the Confederacy. Morale in the South had already been low up to the point of Antietam. The South, during the time of Northern success, was getting the constant bad news continuously shoved in their face through the newspapers. Many of which, predicted a quick end to the Confederacy. On the other hand, in the North, due to the victories, the media was only encouraging the morale of the Union. When it came to the battle of Antietam, how the battle was portrayed in the media had an even more pragmatic effect. Due to the battle taking place in the North, the Union had the benefit of being able to bury the dead as they choose. This helped them greatly when it came to the press. This …show more content…
Without this battle and the triumphant outcome for the Union, then the Civil War may have gone a completely different path. The aftermath of Antietam allowed for media influence over the morale of the citizens in the North and the South, caused international support for the South to crumble, and gave Lincoln the moment he needed to emancipate the slaves. Antietam was the “turning point” of the war that would allow for all of these major impacts to occur. Therefore, giving the Union the leeway they needed to win the

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