The Emancipation Declaration of Independence poster background

The Emancipation Proclamation was promulgated during the American Civil War and only after the United States completed the second industrial revolution

The Americas were originally the homeland of the Indians. After the "New World", Spain, the Netherlands, France, Britain, etc. continued to immigrate to North America and established 13 colonies here. The colonists brutally massacred the indigenous inhabitants, leaving the Indians on the verge of extinction. So they kidnapped a large number of black people from Africa to serve as slaves. As the number of kidnapped black slaves increased, the black slave problem became a serious social problem in the United States.

Lincoln was born into a peasant family, and in his youth he sympathized with the tragic plight of black serfs. After he entered politics in 1834, he made many speeches on the liberation of black slaves. Especially when running for vice president in 1856, he made it clear: "We will fight for freedom and the abolition of slavery." Lincoln's proposition of emancipating black slaves, It was strongly opposed by the serf owners in the southern United States, but it was in the interests of the bourgeoisie in the northern United States. With the support of the northern bourgeoisie, Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States in 1860. The slave owners of southern plantations in the United States formed the Confederate States of America in February 1861. On April 12, the American Civil War began. Due to the lack of adequate preparations by the northern bourgeois Lincoln government, the North suffered a defeat in the early days of the Civil War and Washington was almost lost. Driven by the masses, Lincoln took revolutionary measures in 1862. The most powerful measure was the signing of the "Declaration of Emancipation of Black Slaves."

After the outbreak of the Civil War, a considerable number of black slaves volunteered to assist the federal war for their own freedom, but they had no idea how to deal with the black slaves in the occupied areas. There are still conflicts of opinion. Lincoln initially rescinded the emancipation orders issued by some generals on their own, and the strict implementation of this policy resulted in the fugitive black slaves having to return to their southern masters. However, on March 13, 1862, the Confederate government prohibited all federal commanders from repatriating fugitives. Black slaves influenced the abolition of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. On April 11, 1862, Congress announced that the federal government would guarantee the freeing of slave owners, and all black slaves in Washington were emancipated on April 16, 1862. On July 19, 1862, Congress abolished slavery in federal territories, thereby invalidating the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford case: This resolution resulted in Congress once having no power to supervise the black slave system in the country.

Lincoln once declared that he did not have the power granted by the Constitution to emancipate the black slaves. In addition, emancipating the black slaves was a risky political act because some slave states were still loyal to the Union and the original purpose of the war was Focused on protecting the integrity of the Union rather than freeing black slaves. Based on this, the Declaration was only a military order issued by Lincoln in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, rather than a bill or amendment to the Constitution with the same status promulgated by Congress. There are also arguments that the Emancipation Proclamation itself is unconstitutional and that it is an expansion of the leader's authority to direct military operations rather than the creation of new laws (see Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952) which argued that the President had no authority as commander-in-chief to control steel mills for the Korean War). The Emancipation Proclamation also transferred the right to consent to the emancipation of black slaves to the federal army (although the army itself was segregated). This rare opportunity benefited nearly 200,000 black former slaves and allowed Northerners to obtain additional manpower. resources but the Southerners were unable to imitate it until just days before defeat.

Lincoln first discussed the Declaration with his cabinet in July 1862, but considering the various political implications of the move (including on the slave states in the Union), he felt that he needed to be present before issuing it. Federal victory. After the Union Army repulsed the Confederate invasion of Maryland at the Battle of Antitan, he issued a Declaration of Preparations on September 22, 1862, and the final Declaration was issued in January of the following year.

The Emancipation Proclamation itself was limited to its immediate effect on slavery and could only take effect in Confederate territories that were under the control of the Union, such as the border states (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri and West Virginia) remained unaffected by its allegiance to the Union.

Secretary of State William Seward once commented: "We express our sympathy with slavery by freeing those whom we cannot control and enslaving those whom we can free." Any state that seceded from the Union As long as they rejoined the Union before the Declaration went into effect (or simply sent their congressmen back to Washington) they would have the status of marginal states and, at least for the time being, retain slavery (although Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia had already Before the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865 approved the legality of abolishing slavery nationwide, slavery was gradually abolished through internal political operations).

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"Emancipation Proclamation"

From January 1, 1863, in any state where the local people were still resisting the United States, All persons held as slaves for human possession within, or within specified areas of a State, shall then and forever thereafter be free; and the executive departments of the Government of the United States, including the authorities of the Navy and Army, shall recognize and secure the liberty of such persons when they shall or do nothing to suppress any of them in any endeavor for their own liberty. The executive departments of the Government shall, on the first day of January aforesaid, declare by proclamation that the people of those States, or of those parts of those States, are for the time being in rebellion against the United States, if any; The fact that the electors attend to elect representatives to the Congress of the United States, in the absence of strong evidence to the contrary, is conclusive evidence that the state and its people are not in rebellion against the United States. NOW, THEREFORE, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, delegating the authority of Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of armed rebellion against the authority of the United States, as a strategic measure appropriate and necessary for the suppression of said rebellion, do this in the year 1863. On the 1st of the month of the month, for a period of one hundred days fully from the date first mentioned above, it is now publicly declared for this purpose that those who are now opposed to the United States shall be the following States, and the following districts in certain States, and their people:

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except St. Bernard, Plaquemine, Jephius, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Ascension , Derribaun, Lavas, St. Mary, St. Martin and Orleans counties, including New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia (excluding West Virginia) Forty-eight counties, as well as the counties of Berkeley, Accommodation, Northampton, Elizabeth, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), excluding The region is still temporarily maintaining the original situation before this announcement was issued.

For the purpose aforesaid, I do, by the exercise of the authority of my office, duly command and declare that all persons who are slaves in the said States, and in the said parts of some of the States, are and shall forever be free; the Government of the United States, The freedoms of the above-mentioned people will be recognized and maintained by the authorities, including the navy and army.

I now command these proclaimed free men to refrain from any unlawful conduct except where necessary in self-defense; and I advise them that, wherever possible, they should labor faithfully for a just wage.

I further declare that such persons may, under proper conditions, take part in the military work of the United States, manning batteries, forts, garrisons, and other places, and serving on ships of war of all kinds.

I sincerely believe that this move is a just move, consistent with the provisions of the Constitution and based on military needs. I pray for human discretion and the grace of Almighty God.

In witness, I hereby sign my name and affix the Seal of the United States.

In Washington, January 1, 1863, the 87th anniversary of the independence of the United States. Abraham Lincoln, William Seward (Secretary of State) Introduction to the Emancipation Proclamation.

After the Civil War

At the end of the war, the American Communist Party and abolitionists in the party speculated that the Emancipation Proclamation might be interpreted as an unconstitutional document once the war was over. Wartime orders, so they tried every means to ensure the freedom of all black slaves, not just the emancipation granted by the Declaration. Under this pressure, Lincoln used his 1864 presidential campaign as a bet that he would abolish slavery nationwide through a constitutional amendment. Lincoln's election was supported by split votes in Maryland and Missouri; Maryland's new charter, which took effect on November 1, 1864, abolished slavery.

After winning re-election, Lincoln strongly urged the "lame duck" 38th Congress to immediately pass the constitutional amendment in the 39th Congress. On January 31, 1865, Congress notified state legislators to approve the bill that would become the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited any slavery on U.S. soil. On December 6, 1865, enough states ratified the amendment. As an enforceable law, Kentucky is the only state in the United States that has not freed slaves by any means other than the Amendment.