President Abraham Lincoln, Essay Example

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, a decree that liberated American slaves. The actual execution of the presidential decree was accomplished with the cooperation of many people. The United States Congress and the Union Army as well as the slaves themselves all participated in ending slavery in the United States. The issuance of Emancipation Proclamation was actually just the culmination of a trend that started decades earlier.

The actual execution of the presidential decree was accomplished cooperation of the United States Congress. The 1863 portion of the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Confederacy. An earlier portion of the decree freed slaves in the North, but it was not until 1865 that Congress passed the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution. The 13^th amendment made any type of forced labor illegal in the United States. Furthermore, Congress passed Title 18 which protects people form involuntary servitude with legal consequences. It says that anyone who tries to subjugate with legal precedents another person will be prosecuted under the penalty of the law itself. A previous series of laws made it illegal to bring new slaves into the country and to return a free slave into bondage. Although the Constitution was said to have been for the governed population, until such laws were passed, much of these ideals remained but dreams for many.

The Union Army helped enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. Early in the war, slaves were asked to keep out of the conflict. By 1862, The Union army started enlisting free slaves. By the end of the year, there were about 168,000 free slaves enlisted to help the Union. One major event in the eradication of slavery from the American continent was a martial law levied by William Tecumseh Sherman, a general in the Union Army. Sherman’s decree was that every free slave would be given a mule and forty acres of land to farm so they could provide for their own welfare. Events such as this actually had a more immediate impact on the status of slaves than the Proclamation itself. These are just examples of actions the Union Army took to help eradicate slavery from the South.

The slaves themselves grasped the hand of freedom in the presidential order that liberated them.  Since before the war, many slaves had been trying to flee to the North. Supported by the Abolitionist movement, many slaves escaped to states where there was no slavery via the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a system of escape routes and safe houses where slaves could travel to freedom. This system was put in place by freed slaves and Abolitionists to help those in bondage achieve freedom. Furthermore, the slaves themselves faced brutal opposition to their freedom in the South. They were often harassed and killed if they claimed to be free, but most still remained steadfast in their hopes of a better life. Even before though, there were many salves who sought to free themselves and their families through education – like Frederick Douglass. Others, who had already attained freedom, tried to raise enough money to buy their enslaved brethren from slave owners. It is hard to imagine what it would be like to have to save enough money to buy a family member from a slave owner.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation was an important step in bringing equal treatment to people of color in the United States, it was just one in a series of events that started prior and continued after its issuance. The Emancipation Proclamation was put into play with the collaboration of many citizens. The US Congress and the Union Army as well as the slaves themselves all participated in ending slavery in the United States. Nevertheless, African Americans would not achieved equal rights legislation until the middle of the next century, but many people believe they are still not on a completely level playing field with most of the rest of the population. It took many people a long time to eradicate slavery and its consequences from the United States, and the work is not completely done.