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U.S. History

5 July 2021

How the Emancipation Proclamation was a Game Changer for the Civil War and how it influenced

foreign nations' decisions on whether or not to pick a side in the war.

Introduction

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1,

1863, just as the country was about to enter the third year of a deadly civil war. "That all

individuals kept as slaves are, and henceforth shall be free," stated the proclamation in the states

that were rebelling. Two foreign nations, France and Britain, had lost interest in supporting the

Confederacy. But how did this influence these countries' choices to leave?

When the President thought about liberation, he had a lot to think about. What would it

mean if slaves were freed? How would it affect how the American Civil War played out? Lincoln

had to decide whether or not releasing the slaves would be constitutional, even though he

personally believed it would be "an act of justice." He also understood that he would not be able to

liberate all slaves, notably those in the Union-supporting Border States, which were crucial. As "a

suitable and necessary military action for defeating such insurrection," Lincoln concluded that

emancipating slaves in the territories of rebellion that were not under federal authority was

"warranted by the Constitution." He reasoned that the Confederacy had a clear advantage since

slave labor was employed to fund the Confederate Army. Abraham Lincoln signed an executive

decree known as the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It announced the liberation of

slaves in the eleven Confederate states that were still in uprising.

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Additionally, it ruled that liberated slaves might join the Union Army, adding to the

army's numbers. Although the Proclamation did not technically condemn slavery or liberate the

slaves in the United States that still allowed it, it was a significant step toward its abolition and the

awarding of American citizenship to former slaves. The Proclamation expanded the objectives of

the Union war effort by explicitly including the abolition of slavery in addition to the nation's

reunification.

The Emancipation Proclamation made it easier for other nations to stay out, or in, of the

war. There were many different ways that we responded to the liberation. For example, many

European countries believed that it gave the conflict a legitimate authority. As a result, countries

like England decided to remain neutral. However, these were locations that profited greatly from

the cotton that the slaves produced. Due to the appearance that they would be supporting slavery,

the Emancipation, on the one hand, removed that chance. As Lincoln hoped, the Proclamation

swung foreign popular opinion in favor of the Union by gaining the support of European countries

that had already outlawed slavery. It effectively ended the Confederacy's hopes of gaining official

recognition from European heads of state.

To end this essay, Lincoln's proclamation had no meaningful impact on liberating any of

the nation's slaves since it only extended to areas beyond his sphere of influence. However, it had

great symbolic force since it declared that one of the North's military objectives would be to free

the slaves in addition to defending the Union. As a result of their adamant opposition to slavery,

countries like Britain and France—which had earlier pondered assisting the Confederacy to

increase their power and influence—refrained from doing so.

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Works Cited

History.com Editors. “Emancipation Proclamation.” HISTORY, 26 Jan. 2022,

www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/emancipation-proclamation.

“Immediate Effects of the Emancipation Proclamation.” Hspveneer,

www.portal.hsp.org/unit-plan-items/unit-plan-34. Accessed 22 July 2022.