The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, granted freedom to slaves in many parts of the United States, but not all. It clarified that ending slavery was a primary goal of the Civil War and was a successful Executive Order. The proclamation is widely credited with ending slavery, but in reality, it only ended slavery in states that had already fallen to the Union military. The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution made slavery illegal throughout the unified United States and instilled the same rights and benefits of citizenship in people of all races and backgrounds.
The Emancipation Proclamation is a document issued by American President Abraham Lincoln that effectively granted freedom to slaves held in many parts of the United States, particularly in the South. It was first publicly mentioned in September 1862 and was formalized on January 1, 1863. The document is widely credited with ending slavery, although this is not entirely accurate; it certainly ended slavery in many places and can justifiably be said to have precipitated what later became a national end to slavery, but in fact they remained enslaved in many US states for several years after the proclamation was issued. One of the most important things the document did was clarify that ending slave holding was a primary goal of the Civil War. Issues of human slavery were part of what that controversy was about, but war itself is usually thought to be more generally about the individual rights of governing states. The Emancipation Proclamation made the issue of slavery much more crystallized.
Understand the context
In the years leading up to the American Civil War, slavery practices were widely practiced up and down the East Coast. Many early settlers from England and other parts of Europe brought their slaves with them when they arrived in the land that later became the United States, and slave ships from Africa were later commissioned by settlers. It wasn’t long before the slave trade became a major part of the fabric of much of society.
In almost all cases slaves had no legal rights of their own and were seen as little more than property. Most worked as house laborers or field labourers, and were often mistreated and forced to live in aberrant conditions. Gradually the sensibilities changed and a slow progression of slave owners began to provide their workers with more rights, benefits and in many cases even freedom. Individual state governments followed even more slowly. Some began outlawing slavery or at least part of slavery and the slave trade as early as 1774, but others were adamant that the practice should be tolerated. This was one of several major divisions that led to the outbreak of the Civil War.
Who, exactly, covered
The Emancipation Proclamation famously states that “all persons held in slavery within any State or designated part of a State whose people are then in rebellion against the United States shall then, thereafter, be forever free ”. At first reading, this seems like it was meant to decisively end slavery. This is not entirely correct. What the Proclamation did was end slavery in states that had already fallen to the Union military and were therefore under Union control. The more land the Union took and conquered, the more people were included in the radical language of the proclamation.
Authority and permanence
President Lincoln issued the proclamation under his executive privilege. In general, there are two ways laws can be passed in the United States: through a vote in Congress and through an executive order. An executive order is much faster since it doesn’t involve the formal preparation and discussion processes required for a congressional vote, but is usually subject to more thorough scrutiny. The Emancipation Proclamation is perhaps one of the most famous examples of a successful Executive Order in American history. He is widely regarded as the forerunner of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which made slavery illegal throughout the unified United States and instilled the same rights and benefits of citizenship in people of all races and backgrounds. This amendment was ratified in 1865.
Actual text
The actual text of the announcement is as follows:
From the President of the United States of America:
A PROCLAMATION
Whereas on the day of September 22, 1862 AD, the President of the United States issued a proclamation containing, among other things, the following, namely:
“That A.D. January 1, 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State whose people shall rebel against the United States shall then, thereafter, be forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including its military and naval authority, shall recognize and maintain the liberty of such persons and shall take no act or deed to suppress such persons, or any of them, in any effort they may make for their effective freedom.
“That the executive on January 1 aforesaid, by proclamation, shall designate the states and parts of states, as the case may be, in which their people, respectively, shall rebel against the United States; and the fact that a State or its people will on that day be represented in good faith in the Congress of the United States by members therein selected in elections attended by a majority of the qualified voters of those States, in the absence of strong counterbalancing testimony, be considered conclusive proof that that state and its people are not then in rebellion against the United States.”
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power vested in me as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of effective armed rebellion against the authority and government of in the United States United, and as a suitable and necessary measure of warfare to suppress the said rebellion, to do so, on this January 1, A.D. 1863, and in accordance with my purpose, publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the first day mentioned above, ordains and designates as the States and parts of States in which their people, respectively, are today in rebellion against the United States as follows, namely:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except St. Bernard, Palquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terrebone, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans parishes, including city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia (except for the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also Berkeley, Accomac, Morthhampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and the excluded portions of which are for the time being left exactly as if this proclamation had not been issued.
And by virtue of the power and for the foregoing purpose, I command and declare that all persons held as slaves within the said designated States and parts of States are, and hereafter shall be, free; and that the executive government of the United States, including its military and naval authorities, will recognize and maintain the liberty of the said persons.
And I hereby enjoin the people thus declared to be free to refrain from all violence, except in self-defense; and I commend them that, in each case, when permitted, they work faithfully for a reasonable wage.
And I further declare and give notice that such persons of suitable condition shall be accepted into the armed service of the United States to man forts, positions, stations and other places, and to man vessels of all kinds in said service.
And upon this act, sincerely held to be an act of justice, guaranteed by the Constitution out of military necessity, I invoke the thoughtful judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
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