Unit Essay: The Emancipation Proclamation

Unit Essay: The Emancipation Proclamation

In order to get credit for this project you must write an essay on the following topic:

The Emancipation Proclamation:

By the end of 1862, no American had any illusions about the war ending quickly. On September 22, 1862, five days after the Union victory in the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation as an executive order, quietly using the words, "For my maker...". The order didn't go into effect until January 1st, 1863, and the Southern States could have bypassed it by ceasing hostilities, but they didn't do that. The Proclamation immediately granted the freedom of only 50,000 slaves but it proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nations' 4 million slaves at the time, to be freed as the Union Army advanced through the confederacy. Lincoln struggled greatly with the issue of slavery throughout his life, and when he issued the proclamation he claimed it was because of a covenant he had made with God. He had finally touched the South's sacred "institution" and wholly championed the cause of African-Americans in a deeply racist society. Was he mad or a mad genius? Write a detailed and well-researched essay of no less than 600 words explaining how the Emancipation Proclamation can be seen as a strategic move to help the North win the Civil War. 

Helpful links for this essay:

The Emancipation Proclamation (transcript)

The Emancipation Proclamation (article)

Civil War Unit 2 Essay Class Video: