Реферат: From Oppressed Slaves To Champion Soldiers Essay

feared the emancipation would cause a mass movement of Southern blacks into the

North, Northerners also worried about losing the border states loyal to the Union

because those states were strongly committed to slavery. Skillful leadership was

needed as the country moved toward black freedom. Lincoln supplied that leadership by

combining a clear sense of purpose with a sensitivity to the concerns of various groups.

On September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued a preliminary order to free the slaves. It

declared that all slaves in the states in rebellion against the Union on January 1, 1863,

would be forever free. It did not include slave states loyal to the Union. On Jan 1,

1863, Lincoln issued the final order as the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation

Proclamation, though legally binding, was a war measure that could be reversed later.

Therefore, in 1865, Lincoln helped push through Congress the 13th Amendment to the

Constitution, which abolished slavery throughout the nation. For his effort in freeing the

slaves, Lincoln is known as the “Great Emancipator.” However, many discredit that title

for Lincoln due to the fact that he too believed that blacks were inferior in battle.

The Emancipation Proclamation also announced Lincoln’s decision to use black troops,

though many whites believed that blacks would make poor soldiers. “They will run at

the first sign of danger!” (Park Net 5). “Approximately 180,000 blacks served in the

Union Army, comprising 163 regiments. Many more African-Americans served in the

Union Navy Both free African-Americans and runaway slaves joined the fight” (Bennett

326). “About two-thirds of them were Southerners who had fled to freedom in the

North” (Bennett 326). “Only about 100 blacks were made officers” (Park Net 2). “After

the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, the Civil War became a war to save the Union

and to more importantly abolish slavery” (Long 27).

The Confederacy objected strongly to the North’s use of black soldiers because they

grew fearful of losing slaves to the Union armies. As slave masters in the South grew

fearful of losing slaves to the Union armies, they implemented harsher restrictions upon

their slaves, often moving the entire plantation further inland to avoid Northern

contact. These changes, however, only caused slaves to flee, and those that did stay

demanded more freedom from their masters. In this way, the slaves gained some power