what was the main purpose of the emancipation proclamation

Answer 1

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, primarily aimed to achieve two main objectives:

1. Freedom for Enslaved People in Confederate States: The proclamation declared that all enslaved people in the states in rebellion against the Union (the Confederate states) were to be freed. This shifted the focus of the Civil War from solely preserving the Union to also include the abolition of slavery as a war goal.

2. Strengthening the Union War Effort: By emancipating enslaved people in the Confederate states, Lincoln aimed to weaken the Confederacy's ability to sustain its war effort. Enslaved individuals were critical to the Southern economy and labor force; freeing them would disrupt agricultural production, particularly in cotton and labor-intensive industries.

Overall, the Emancipation Proclamation was a strategic move intended to alter the legal status of enslaved people in the Confederate states, encourage enslaved individuals to escape to Union lines, and bolster the Union’s moral position in the war. While it did not immediately free all enslaved people, it paved the way for future abolition efforts and allowed for the recruitment of African American soldiers into the Union Army.