Existing comment:
1863:
Promoting the Proclamation:
Response to the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, was mixed, and debate over its effectiveness continues today (it immediately freed slaves in only a few places and left slavery legal in some Union states). But the president and many others saw it as a crucial step toward complete emancipation. Lincoln called it not only a "necessary war measure" but also an "act of justice".
(Document) Broadside of the Emancipation Proclamation, Blanchard edition, Chicago, ca. 1863. The printer Rufus Blanchard describes the proclamation as "in incalculable element of strength to the Union cause" making foreign support for the Confederacy impossible and prompting slaves to fight for the Union and their freedom. |