Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln

Cristina Gonzlez Illn 48634721w

Grado en Estudios ingleses. 2PEC
Cgonzalez1937@alumno.uned.es
The Emancipation Proclamation is one of the most important political speeches
ever made in the USA history. It was given by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, during
the American Civil War (1861 - 1865) and it proclaimed freedom to all slaves
under the Union control.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a humble cabin in the slave state Kentucky in
1809. On those days American population reached nearly seven million people,
out of which every sixth became slave. Lincolns deeply religious parents were
members of a Baptist church community opposed to slavery and the family
moved to the free state of Indiana some years later. Lincoln is an brilliant
example of self-made man. He attended school for one year only, since his
father forced him to hard work when he was very young and even sent him to
work as help to their neighbours. Despite all this and of being mostly self-
taught, he managed to become a successful lawyer.
Abraham Lincoln was the leader of the Republican Party and in 1860 he
became the 16th President of the United States in a legislature marked by the
civil war between the North and the South. Natural from Kentucky, Lincoln had
been distinguished as a great captain in the conflict against "Black Falcon"
before he exercised as a member of the Illinois Congress and later in the House
of Representatives until 1849. Lincolns victory encouraged seven southern
slave states to form the Confederate States of America because of the
President-elect opposition to the expansion of slavery and his anti-slavery
beliefs. But the secession and the new Confederate government proclaimed in
February 1861 were declared illegal by the Union. Later, between the years of
1861 y 1865 it took place a really important conflict in the history of the United
States of America.
The background of this war was the economy, because there were too different:
the Northern economy was industrial-abolitionist, and on the other hand, the
agricultural-slave trade from the South. The northern states had a diversified
economy: agriculture, trade and industry: preference for European workforce
and democratic and bourgeois forms. However, the Southern states had an
economy based on agriculture, mainly cotton, sugar cane and snuff, a
workforce composed of black slaves economy and an inclination to aristocratic
forms. Moreover, the 15 Southern states had a population of 10 million
inhabitants, of around 3.5 million were black slaveholders: defenders of slavery
because it suited their interests; the 18 Northern states, with a population of 20
million, were in favour of the abolition of slavery or anti-slavery abolitionists.
Abraham Lincoln was a strong opponent of the slavery expansion, so during
his presidency he helped to maintained joined the United States thanks to the
defeat of the Confederate States of America. He took steps that drove the
country to the abolition of slavery, with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863
and the approval of the Thirthteen Amendment to the Constitution. Lincoln was
looking deep the result of the war until the very end, including the selection of
some generals, especially one who was U. S. Grant, one of the best generals in
the moment. Thanks to Lincolns speeches and rhetoric, he could mobilise the
public opinion, especially Gettysburg, one of his most famous speeches. When
the war ended, he established the reconstruction, trying to reunify the country
through reconciliation politic. Finally, he was murder in 1865, being the first
assassination in US.
In September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation
to his cabinet, but many of them were against it because they thought it was too
radical to apply, so they suggested to wait until a victory of the Union to execute
the law. There was a battle in Antietam, the Union did not have the victory at all
but they were capable of driving the Confederate States out of Maryland. Three
months later, on January 1, 1863 the President of America announced an
Emancipation Proclamation, a measurement applied only to the states in
rebellion, in order to supress it. There were so many purpose of the Civil War
like freeing slaves in those rebel states, abolition, allowing freed slaves to join
the Union Army, and preserving the symbol of equality. However, it increased
the investment of the war, it became a war for freedom and that would destroy
the basic institution of the Southern society, words said by Abraham Lincoln in
the Address of Gettysburg. When it took effect, more than 3 million slaves were
freed and had an immediate effect on the focus of the war, first the aim was to
preserve the Union, and then the main war aim was the freedom of slaves. The
Proclamation also allowed the African-Americans citizens to join the Unions
forced, five months later the War Department established the United States
Coloured Troops, and by the end of the war close to 200.000 African-Americans
would serve honourably in the Unions army and navy.
Initially, the Proclamation was only for free slaves in the rebellious states, but at
the end of the war, it had influenced and citizens wanted to advocate and
accept that same abolition for all slaves in both Northern and Southern States.
Thanks to this, on December 6, 1865, Lincoln proclaimed the 13th Amendment,
that officially abolished slavery in all United States, and not only to the states in
rebellion.
After the Civil War, the EEUU entered a stage of rapid economic development,
which contributed the abundance of natural resources, the American inventive
genius and the democratic regime of freedom and equality of opportunity, that
even in the South was reestablished gradually. Since the time of Benjamin
Franklin, contributions had been making to the mechanics and applied science,
like cotton gin, electric telegraph, sewing machine, guns, elevators, etc. In the
second half of the nineteenth century, the country entered fully into the era of
mechanization and large-scale production. They came the great captains of
industry and ruled the country for most of the rest of the century, with strong
anti-capitalist opposition, thanks to the expansion of railroads, mining, factories,
agriculture and livestock and the consequent great increase in wealth.

In my opinion, this is such an interesting theme to work and important as well.

The freedom of slavery was a surprise for everyone in that time and it was really
difficult to think that it will be happening so close, even though people wanted
this, they did not think that any President of the United States of America were
to accept this proposal. For me, Abraham Lincoln was an exemplary president
and one of the best that America has had in all its history.

Bibliography
http://www.abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/abraham-lincoln-in-depth/abraham-
lincoln-and-emancipation/
HISTORYNET: Emancipation Declaration [online], date of query: 30/03/2016.
Available in <http://www.historynet.com/emancipation-proclamation>
U.S NATIONAL ARCHIVES & RECORDS ADMINISTRATION: Emancipation
Proclamation [online], date of query: 01/04/2016. Available in
<https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclam
ation/>
WIKIPEDIA: Abraham Lincoln [online], date of query: 02/04/2016. Available in
<https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln>