LAD # 16

The Emancipation Proclamation:
On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation. This was a document that now allowed all slaves to be freed. Not only slaves in the free states but also slaves residing in slave states. The entire nation no longer could coexist with the extreme repression of people found in slavery. Also as a direct result, this document made the slave owners accountable. If anyone, from this point on conducted the practice of slavery then they would be considered treasonous to the nation. In this address, Lincoln made a bold assertion that forever changed the nation. From this point on our nation could no longer be characterized by supreme oppression of people, that was entirely outdated and unnecessary to begin with. Obviously as an immediate result, the southern states would rear extreme opposition, claiming their entire economic system relied on this process to survive.