The Emancipation Proclamation Impact On The Civil Rights Movement

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. At this time the country was in the middle of the Civil War. The North and South, better known as the Union and Confederate, were originally fighting over states’ rights and the abolition movement. However, as the war progressed slavery became more and more of an issue. The issue reached a head when the Emancipation Proclamation was passed. It freed all of the slaves located in the Confederate states. This sounds like fantastic progress in the abolition movement, but since the Confederate states were not following Lincoln they did not oblige. This proclamation did however set forth a notion of freeing those enslaved after the war ended. The Emancipation Proclamation was the beginning of the long road to equality for freed blacks.
Leading up to the Civil War many laws …show more content…
This came in the form of the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation freed the slaves in the rebelling Confederacy. This may seem ineffective, but it was used to promote running away, rebelling against owners, and undermining the Confederate effort (Marten, James). In addition black men were allowed to enlist in the Union army. The Emancipation Proclamation began to make people question the new status of blacks in the United States.
The Emancipation Proclamation impacted the civil rights movement tremendously. After the proclamation was passed immediate measures were taken to secure rights for these newly freed people. There was a temporary program in 1865 called the Freedmen’s Bureau, which helped former slaves adjust to free life after the war. It provided food, medical care, legal assistance, and housing (history.com Staff). In addition, it financed committees for black education. However, this program lasted short term due to shortage funding and race conflict. It lasted until 1870 when Congress shut it