Emancipation Proclamation - Admission/Application Essay Example

The Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation that made by President Abraham Lincoln as a war measure during the American Civil War. It ordered the Union Army to recognize and maintain the freedom of the ex-slaves. It made the eradication of slavery an explicit war goal, in addition to reuniting the Union. The president issued the emancipation proclamation so as to broaden the goals of the civil war too. This paper aims to evaluate the issues that prompted Lincoln to present the emancipation proclamation and assess whether he could have done more with the proclamation.

The main cause of the war was slavery. Therefore, Lincoln’s mission was to keep the union together. Socially, slavery was supported in law and practice by the culture of the white supremacy. Lincoln issued the proclamation so as to free slaves and also as a step to outlaw slavery and confer full citizenship to the slaves. The president being the commander in chief of the army, had the martial power to free people held as slaves in the rebellious states. The Antietam civil war battle seared into the American consciousness, and this triggered the need for a turning point.

In a single day, 23000 men were injured and killed (Krensky, 2012). This shook the country, and Lincoln took advantage of this to present a proclamation. This war became a turning point in the war, and Lincoln revolutionized the war and promised freedom of slaves who had been taken captive in the rebel states. The high number of deaths and injuries that occurred during the Antietam battle triggered Abraham Lincoln to present the Emancipation Proclamation.Lincoln could not have done better than revolutionize the freedom of the slaves.

Through the war, Lincoln was able to present a turning point in the war, which brought some light to the end of the war. He proposed the emancipation proclamation, which was not objected by the congress (Howel, 2006). Through the emancipation proclamation, the slaves who had been held captive in the rebel states were able to regain their freedom as the proclamation ensured that everybody was free. The high number of deaths and the intensity of the war made it easy for Lincoln to assist the slaves regain their freedom.

If Lincoln could have used the emancipation to action for the slaves, he could have inflicted seriously economic problems to the south. This is because, the slaves were the primary laborers in the South and, therefore, to save the economy, Lincoln had to save the Union, rather than act for the slaves. Also, through the emancipation proclamation, Lincoln ensured that every state had a movement that objected slavery and this further facilitated the end of slavery.ConclusionLincoln’s intervention through the emancipation proclamation was effective, and it assisted to end slavery.

This proclamation was triggered by the huge number of deaths that occurred during the Antietam battle, and it revolutionized the meaning of the country’s struggle. This war and the emancipation proclamation are worth remembering, not only because of the number of deaths that occurred, but also because it reveals the ability of the Americans to redefine themselves, based on their principles.ReferenceHowell, M. L. 2006. The Emancipation Proclamation. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Green haven Press/Thomson Gale.

Kerensky, S. 2012. The Emancipation Proclamation. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.