American Civil War Issues - Assignment Example

These events led to the Civil War and set the stage for the termination of slavery in America. The goal of antislavery Republicans was to restore the Union and abolish slavery. They wanted the war to continue until the attainment of these goals. Originally, Lincoln did not recognize emancipation as the war’s goal, but he was burdened by the escape of several slaves in the South (“The Civil War”). With the fate of the Union at stake, Lincoln was primarily committed to saving the Union. His prime concern was to save the Union with or without freeing the slaves. Events led to the surrender of Lincoln to the antislavery republicans’ pressure. This made slavery the prime factor in Civil War and made abolition evolve as a strategy to preserve the Union and put an end to the rebellion. Therefore, the president drafted an emancipation general proclamation which was finally issued on 22 September 1862 and signed and approved by Lincoln on 1 January 1863. Abolitionists were concerned after the war that since the emancipation proclamation was derived from the wartime powers of Lincoln, its power might wane. The end of slavery in the US was an event of global significance (Ayers).