THE EMANCIPATION
PROCLAMATION
JANUARY 1, 1863
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
FACTS LEADING TO THE E. P.
Lincoln was pressured by Abolitionists
and Republicans to issue the
Emancipation Proclamation.
The Emancipation Proclamation
proclaimed freedom for slaves
applying to 3.1 million of the 4 million
slaves.
The Proclamation freed 30,000 slaves
automatically.
FACTS OF THE E. P.
• The Proclamation did not
• compensate owners,
• make freed slaves citizens,
• outlaw slavery.
• The Proclamation did
• make abolition a central goal of war,
• outrage Southerners who viewed this as a race
war,
• anger Northern Democrats,
• energize the anti-slavery force,
• weaken forces in Europe that wanted to
intervene and help the Confederates.
FACTS SURROUNDING THE E.P.
• Following the Union victory at Antietam in
September 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued
the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the
slaves in the states remaining in rebellion after the
following January 1.
• Although he was criticized by many for not going
far enough, Lincoln had no constitutional power to
end slavery in states loyal to the Union.
• His act, however, encouraged slaves to help the
Union and transformed the war into a crusade
against slavery.
WHAT TO THINK ABOUT WHEN READING
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
1. When was the Emancipation Proclamation given?
2. What was Lincoln’s goal in issuing the
emancipation proclamation?
3. What was the intent of the emancipation
proclamation?
4. Why was the emancipation proclamation
symbolic?
5. What are the inherent moral truths nested in the
Emancipation Proclamation?