Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation - Research Paper Example

eneral antislavery policy” (Civilwarhome, n.d.) The political and social conditions of the late 19th century stand testimony to these reasons behind the Emancipation Proclamation. Historians like Historian Benjamin Quarles wrote: “As a constitutionalist Lincoln was dedicated to the preservation of the Union.” (Abraham Lincoln Papers, n.d.). Preserving the Union and to uphold the constitution were the primary motives of Lincoln, in which he was honest. One of the primary reasons for which the Emancipation Proclamation was deemed necessary has been predicted and stated to be one of political object.

It was the period of the American Civil War. It was obvious that Lincoln issued the Proclamation in the capacity of the Commander-in-Chief with no constitutional color nor as an amendment but only as a necessary war measure Abraham Lincoln Papers, n.d). As not all the slaves were released from slavery, most of them were motivated to run to the Union Lines in order to save themselves as refugees of slavery. Regarding this, the Secretary of State William H. Seward said "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” (Primary Sources: Workshops in American History. n.d.). Secondly, the Emancipation Proclamation made room for the enrollment of the freed slaves into the United States Army (Mr.

Lincoln and Freedom. 2002). It was Civil War Period and more new soldiers were welcome. According to a statistics, almost 200,000 blacks, of whom most of them were freed slaves, became part of the Union Army (Holzer, Harold, Medford, Edna, & Williams, Greene Frank J. 2006.) As they added military strength to the North which led to the great win, later, Lincoln announced benefits to these soldiers. So, the Emancipation Proclamation, though did not make slavery illegal, paved a legally protected route for beneficial acts towards the slaves.

Thirdly, the Emancipation Declaration stated