When the American Civil War began in 1861, it was agreed by both northern and southern governments that the war would not be fought over slavery. In the North, President Lincoln declared that he would not interfere with slavery where it already existed, and Congress passed a resolution stating that the war was being fought to preserve the Union, not to abolish slavery.
War Aims Shift as the Need Arises
As U.S. forces began occupying southern territory, slaves escaped into the U.S. lines. By early 1862, Lincoln realized that depriving the Confederacy of its labor force could damage the southern economy and, therefore, the southern ability to wage war.
Consequently, Lincoln prohibited his military commanders from returning fugitive slaves to their owners. In addition, Congress voted to abolish slavery in all U.S. territories. However these measures had minimal impact on the South, and by July 1862, the Confederacy was winning the war. Something substantial was needed to turn the tide.
The Preliminary Emancipation
Believing that the time was right to modify U.S. war aims, Lincoln read a draft of his Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet on July 22. While most cabinet members supported the proclamation, some thought that issuing such a decree at that time would seem desperate since the U.S. was losing the war. Lincoln agreed to wait until a U.S. military victory before he issued his proclamation.
The Battle of Antietam, though technically a stalemate, was enough of a U.S. victory for Lincoln to act. The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was issued on September 22, and was to take effect on January 1, 1863.
The Proclamation's Effect
Although the document stated that slaves "henceforward shall be free," it did not apply to slave states remaining loyal to the U.S., such as Missouri and Kentucky. It also did not apply to southern regions under U.S. military occupation, such as most of Louisiana and Tennessee.
The proclamation only applied to areas in rebellion, where the proclamation would not be honored, and thus it technically freed no slaves at all. Furthermore, there was no legal basis for such a proclamation since no presidential order can supersede established law. However Lincoln issued the decree more for political and military purposes than moral or legal ones. He knew the mere symbolism of such a proclamation would have a significant impact, and he was correct.
For one, the proclamation prevented England and France from aiding the Confederacy because neither country would aid a slaveholding country against a country committed to ending slavery. More importantly, the proclamation changed the nature of the war from that of restoring the Union to a war over the morality of slavery.
However the proclamation had a negative effect in the North, as thousands of soldiers deserted the army rather than fight to free slaves. On the other hand, it encouraged more slaves to escape their masters and move to the North. This paved the way for the eventual recruitment of blacks in the military, and by war’s end nearly 200,000 blacks had fought for their own freedom.
The War Effort After Emancipation
Although the proclamation did not end slavery, it set the stage for the eventual ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865, which abolished involuntary servitude forever. It also changed the war's character by confirming the assertions of civil rights leaders that the war must be fought for slave liberation.
The Emancipation Proclamation had no legal basis, but it strengthened the U.S. war effort politically, militarily and morally. Slavery was not yet destroyed in America, but the proclamation was a vital milestone on the path to its ultimate extinction.
Sources:
Crocker III, H.W.: The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2008)
Wallechinsky, David and Wallace, Irving: The People’s Almanac (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1975)
Walter Coffey - Walter Coffey is a freelance writer who resides in Houston, Texas. Walter has written several works of historical fiction and non-fiction, ...
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