The Emancipation Proclamation: A Political Statement

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the motivation behind the Emancipation Proclamation in which President Lincoln declared that all slaves residing in all rebellious Confederate states were to be free men. The paper contends that the makeup of the proclamation was not a blanket statement that condemned the institution of slaver and freed all slaves. Instead, it was the result of a difficult decision by the President who was attempting to hold the union together by balancing the interests of several groups. The paper explains the reasons for this contention and concludes that, despite the fact that the Emancipation Proclamation has come to be seen as the action in which Lincoln released the slaves, this declaration was actually more political than a statement on the morality of enslaving other human beings.

From the Paper:

"On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln announced what has come to be known as the Emancipation Proclamation in which he declared that all slaves residing in all rebelious Confederate states were to be free men. While it is true that Lincoln cared deeply about the plight of the slaves, it is also true that the Emancipation Proclamation was a highly political declaration. The makeup of the proclamation was not a blanket statement that condemned the institution of slaver and freed all slaves. Instead, it was the result of a difficult decision by the president who was attempting to hold the union together by balancing the interests of several groups."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. New York: Harper Collins, 2002.
• McPherson, James Munro. For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
• Oats, Stephen B. With Malace Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Harper Colins, 1994.
• Sandburg, Carl. Abraham Lincoln: The War Years. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1939.
• Simpson, Brooks D. and David W. Blight. Union and Emancipation: Essays and Politics on Race in the Civil War Era. Canton, OH: Kent State University Prss, 1997.

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