128 The U.S. Civil War 9A | The Emancipation Proclamation
Show image 9A-6: Lincoln reading Emancipation Proclamation before his
Cabinet
Slavery was a major reason that the nation was divided in
the fi rst place, but the reason Lincoln declared war was that the
Confederacy broke national law by seceding from the Union.
In other words, in the beginning, the war was not about ending
slavery but about keeping the nation whole. The Emancipation
Proclamation changed this.
The Emancipation Proclamation changed the focus and
purpose of the war at a time when things were not going well for
the Union. This was before the Battle of Gettysburg, which took
place in July 1863. The Union had not won many battles, yet tens
of thousands of men were already dead or wounded, and there
was no end to the war in sight. 13
Many people, including his closest advisors, told Lincoln to
end the war and let the Confederacy have its way. This picture
shows Lincoln just having read the Emancipation Proclamation to
his Cabinet, or group of advisors. Some thought it was a good
idea, and some did not, but Lincoln did what he knew was the
right thing to do. The Emancipation Proclamation let everyone
know that Lincoln was not only determined to preserve, or save,
the Union; he also wanted to make sure that slavery would never
cause another war. This made the abolitionists very happy, and
after that they put their full support behind Lincoln and the war.^14
Show image 9A-7: The Spirit of Freedom sculpture
The Emancipation Proclamation also allowed free African
Americans and escaped slaves to fi ght for the Union. The
famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass helped recruit African
Americans—he encouraged them to join the Union Army as
soldiers. Many African Americans did join the Union Army and
fought courageously. African American men and women were
eager to help the Union Army in other ways, too. Men worked
as carpenters, cooks, guards, laborers, and boat pilots. African13 So what did the Emancipation
Proclamation do and not do?
(changed the war but didn’t end
the war)
14 Who were abolitionists?