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The Emancipation Proclamation through Different Eyes
by Gregory Segovia
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Background:
The Emancipation Proclamation is the document that Lincoln
felt would cement his name in history. It stated that
all enslaved people within the states in rebellion were
free. Although the document was not accepted in the Confederacy
and therefore did not immediately free any slaves, it
is considered one of the most important in American history.
The proclamation, controversial in its own time, laid
down a pathway for the future and provided a commitment
to ending slavery. The document promoted the mission of
reestablishing a unified nation - a goal that was seen
as an important part of creating a fairer and better America.
In order to keep border states in the Union, Lincoln's
proclamation did not apply to them. As a constitutionalist,
President Lincoln issued the document as a wartime measure
justified by "the power vested in me as Commander in Chief."
As word of the proclamation spread, enslaved people made
their way from plantation fields to union lines in battle
zones.
Issued after the battle of Antietam, a bloody battle in
which Union forces claimed victory, the document raised
the stakes for both the Confederacy and the Union. European
nations, which had abolished slavery, were now less likely
to recognize the rebellious Southern government. Free
blacks in the North welcomed the added moral dimension
to the conflict and joined the U.S. army in increasing
numbers. With the subsequent passage of the Thirteenth
Amendment in 1865, the promise of the Proclamation was
kept, as four million people were freed from bondage,
and chattel slavery came to an end.
Essential Question:
How did different segments of the American population
view the Emancipation Proclamation?
Materials:
Objective:
In this lesson students will be asked to analyze
the Emancipation Proclamation and then view it through
the lens of different segments of the population at the
time it was passed. At the conclusion of the lesson, students
will be asked to determine if the document deserves to
be called one of the greatest in U.S. history.
Homework: As a homework assignment, students
will read the Emancipation Proclamation. They will list
and analyze key terms and statements in the document.
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