The Emancipation Proclamation

Author's Note: I wrote this essay on the Emancipation Proclamation, the document that officially freed slaves. My focus for this piece is sentence fluency and organization in my body paragraphs.

In 1860, all people were not considered equal. If you were white, you were superior to others. If not: you were forced into slavery. Even women and children. It wasn't fair. The Union knew this and wanted to declare freedom for these slaves. But the Confederacy was for slavery and was willing to fight to keep it. That's when the Civil War began. President Lincoln knew that something had to be done. That's when the Emancipation Proclamation was born. Without the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery might have never ended.

So what is the Emancipation Proclamation? It was the document that freed slaves from both the north and the south. When it was originally signed it 1862, it only freed slaves from the northern states. The second part of it was added in 1863 declaring that slaves were free in all states. In 1865, it was found that the Emancipation Proclamation ratified the 13th amendment, officially freeing every slave for good.

Why was it so important? The Emancipation Proclamation was so important because it marked the end of slavery for the United States. Although there would be more racism to come in the future, we had a start to making all people feel equal in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation also had a huge impact on the Civil War.

How did it impact the Civil War? The Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery which was one of the main reasons why the war started in the first place. When slavery ended, the war slowly ended as well. Also, when the first part on the document was signed, only northern states were free of slavery. When southern slaves heard about this, they escaped to the north for freedom. Once they got there, they fought for the north, giving them a dramatic lead.

Why was President Lincoln so bold in signing it? Either way, he could've been in trouble. If he did sign it, it could've made the Confederate states even madder. How would you feel if your president had in your mind betrayed you. He could've endangered himself by signing it. If he didn't sign it, we might not have even seen the end of slavery today, and no body knows how long the war could've gone on.

Was the Emancipation Proclamation well received? For the most part, yes. Obviously the slaves were happy that they had their freedom, and the Union was glad of it too. The Confederacy was okay with it as well, surprisingly. They were of course upset that they lost the war and slavery rights but in the end, they seemed okay with it.

To emancipate basically means to free. Abraham Lincoln freed all the slaves, but  people are still not always treated equally. Back in the early nineteen hundreds,there was so much racism going on in the United States. Since then, it has been improved, but we still see it sometimes. But without the Emancipation Proclamation, there might have even been slavery in the United States today.