Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation officially outlawed slavery in the United States of America.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on September 22, 1862, and it officially went into effect January 1, 1863, during the second year of the American Civil War. It was Abraham Lincoln's declaration that all slaves in the states which had seceded from the Union, and which were not at the time under Federal control, were now emancipated; that is to say, were considered free.

This action had almost no immediate effect, since it was impossible for the Federal government to implement it in those regions where it actually applied -- namely the states in rebellion that were not under Federal control.

Slaves in the states which remained loyal to the Union were not affected, and remained in slavery until the ratification of the thirteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865. Thus the impact of the proclamation was more symbolic than real. William Seward, Lincoln's Secretary of State, commented on this by remarking, "We show our sympathy with slavery by emancipating slaves where we cannot reach them and holding them in bondage where we can set them free."

But, Lincoln believed he had no constitutional authority to free the slaves except in those states where it was deemed a military necessity in order to suppress the rebellion, and freeing slaves was still a risky political act given that there were still slave states loyal to the union, and the initial war aims were centered on preserving the union rather than freeing slaves. As such, the Emancipation Proclamation was a military order issued by Lincoln in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief.

The Emancipation Proclamation also allowed for the admittance of freed slaves into the (then-segregated) United States military, an unusual opportunity taken by nearly 200,000 black men, many of them former slaves.

Lincoln first discussed the Emancipation Proclamation with his cabinet in July, 1862, but because of the political implications of this act (including the presence of slave states within the Union), he felt that he needed a Union victory in the Civil War before he could issue it. After the battle of Antietam, in which Union troops turned back a Confederate invasion of Maryland, he issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. The final Emancipation Proclamation was then issued in January of the following year.

Despite the lack of any immediate impact on the slaves, the proclamation represented a shift in the attitudes of the North towards its war objectives, where merely reuniting the nation would no longer become the sole outcome. It represented the first step toward the ultimate abolition of slavery in the United States.

In the military, the reaction to the Emancipation Proclamation varied widely with some units coming to near mutiny in protest and desertions were reported because of it. On the other hand, other units were inspired with the adoption of a cause that seemed to them to ennoble their efforts such that at least one unit took up the motto, "For Union and Liberty".

Overseas, as Lincoln hoped, the Emancipation Proclamation turned foreign popular opinion in favour of the Northern States for its new commitment to end slavery. That shift ended any hope of the Confederate States of gaining official recognition by foreign countries, particularly with the United Kingdom.

Below is the complete text of he Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation

1864

By the President of the United States of America:

A PROCLAMATION

Whereas on the 22nd day of September, A.D. 1862, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

"That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

"That the executive will on the 1st day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State or the people thereof shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such States shall have participated shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof are not then in rebellion against the United States."

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-In-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for supressing said rebellion, do, on this 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the first day above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof, respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States the following, to wit:

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard, Palquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terrebone, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac, Morthhampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.

And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States are, and henceforward shall be, free; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all case when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.

And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable condition will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

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