Hey y’all today we are getting down to the deep and dirty facts about the controversial Emancipation Proclamation. We have none other than the issuer himself, Abe Lincoln, with us today to answer the frequently asked questions.
American Insiderz: Welcome Mr. Lincoln, how are you?
Abe Lincoln: Good, thanks for asking.
AI: What was your purpose of issuing the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,1863 ?
AL: It proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the ten states that were still in rebellion, thus applying to 3.1 million of the 4 million slaves in the U.S. at the time
AI: Was this law passed by Congress?
AL: No it wasn’t.
AI: What did you order the Union and all segments of the Executive Branch to do?
AL: To recognize and maintain the freedom of the ex-slaves.
AI: What was one of the effects of this proclamation?
AL: Around 20,000 to 50,000 slaves in regions where rebellion had already been subdued were immediately emancipated; the proclamation provided the legal framework for freeing more than 3 million more slaves in those regions.
AI: Who did the proclamation refer to?
AL: The Proclamation only applied to slaves in Confederate held lands; it did not apply to those in the five slave states that were not in rebellion, nor to most regions already controlled by the Union army.
AI: Okay, we have to wrap it up now, so what is one thing that you think the proclamation best did?
AL: The Emancipation Proclamation broadened the goals of the Civil War. While slavery had been a major issue that led to the war, at its beginning, my only mission was to keep the Union together. The Proclamation made freeing the slaves an explicit goal of the Union war effort, and was a step towards outlawing slavery and conferring full citizenship upon ex-slaves.
AI: Thank you Mr. Lincoln for your time and participation.
AL: You’re Welcome.
Conversations With Abe
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