The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order declaring that all slaves who were in Confederate territory be set free. It was issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War as it approached its third year in 1863. This changed the lives of more than 3.5 million African Americans living in Confederate states who were enslaved to being free. Although its immediate outcome was not as impacting as anticipated, it set the stage for the future abolition of slavery and changed the outcome of African American lives in the United States. Learning the historical context and significance is crucial to understanding its impact on that specific time period and the never-ending legacy it left behind. The Emancipation Proclamation stands as one of the most transforming documents in American history, representing a significant moment in the country’s struggle for freedom and equality.

Slavery was very prominent in American society, especially throughout the states in the South, where it was the central pub of the economy and culture. Enslaved African Americans were treated as property and completely controlled by whoever owned them. The expansion of slavery throughout the states was a huge factor leading up to the Civil War. It started in 1861 and was fought between the Union (northern states) and the Confederacy (the southern states) over problems and differences between the economy, states’ rights, and most important, in this case, the future of slavery. The Union wanted to contain slavery and prevent its spread, while also working to abolish it together in the future. The Confederacy, however, benefited greatly from slavery and fought to keep it (Guelzo, The End of Slavery in America).

President Abraham Lincoln did not originally have intentions to end slavery when considering the Emancipation Proclamation. He simply was on the side of the Union and wanted to preserve it as much as possible. Thus, he thought the smartest move would be to try to end slavery, which is something the Confederacy thrived on. The Proclamation then focused on weakening the Confederacy by encouraging the slaves to run from their Confederate states and join the Union army. This deprived the Confederacy of their main form of economy and labor, essentially stripping them of their driving forces (Gonzalez, Reading the Emancipation Proclamation). In the Proclamation Lincoln stated, “All persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free” (Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation). This then allowed for public opinion and outcry of the enslaved African Americans to ensure that this happens. Because of this, it caused a major difference in freedom and human rights, making it very difficult for people to support slavery.

The outcome of the Proclamation resulted in African Americans joining the Union Army and fighting for their own freedom. There were almost 200,000 previously enslaved people who served in their army, which resulted in the Union winning the Civil War. The Proclamation reflects this specific time period in history because of “the Civil War, the struggle for equality, the strategy of the army, and the power the president of the United States had” (Holzer, The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views). It acknowledges the discrimination of African Americans, but it is important to know that the Proclamation did not free all enslaved people immediately. It only applied to confederate states.

Overall, Lincoln’s Proclamation showed the struggles of political decisions during essential times of crisis. It was a crucial document that completely altered the course of American history afterward. By understanding the historical context of the Civil War and its implications, one may gain insights into the importance of the time period, the challenges faced by Lincoln in creating it, and the future widespread fight for freedom and equality in the United States.

Franklin, John Hope. The Emancipation Proclamation. [1st ed.]. Doubleday, 1963. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=cat00991a&AN=sth.ocm00168670&site=eds-live.

Gonzalez, Aston. 2022. “Reading the Emancipation Proclamation: Viewing Race and Freedom during the Civil War Era.” Civil War History 68 (2): 1–17. doi:10.1353/cwh.2022.0015.

Guelzo, Allen C. 2004. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation : The End of Slavery in America. Simon & Schuster. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=cat00991a&AN=sth.ocm53276554&site=eds-live.

Holzer, Harold, Edna Greene Medford, and Frank J. Williams. 2006. The Emancipation Proclamation : Three Views (Social, Political, Iconographic). Conflicting Worlds. Louisiana State University Press. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=cat00991a&AN=sth.ocn849949680&site=eds-live.