Emancipation Proclamation - Analysis and Key Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture notes on the Emancipation Proclamation.

Emancipation Proclamation (01/01/1863)

A war measure issued by Lincoln declaring enslaved people in Confederate-controlled areas free, issued under his powers as Commander in Chief.

War Power (Commander in Chief)

Constitutional authority enabling the president to direct military actions during war; used to justify the Proclamation as a military order.

Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (Sept 22, 1862)

An earlier warning to the Confederacy that slavery would be abolished in rebelling states if the war continued after January 1, 1863.

Scope of emancipation (Areas affected)

Emancipation applied to Confederate-controlled regions; did not apply in areas under Union control or border states.

Excluded regions within states

Parts of Louisiana, parts of Virginia, and the entire state of Tennessee were not emancipated by the Proclamation.

Border States not covered

Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri—slave states in the Union not subject to the Proclamation as they were not at war with the United States.

All persons held as slaves within these states are, and henceforward shall be, free

The Proclamation's central declarative clause declaring freedom for enslaved people in the specified areas as of January 1, 1863.

Rights of freed people

Freed people could defend their freedom, and were to labor for reasonable wages, indicating agency and bargaining power.

Union Army and Black soldiers

The Proclamation opened the possibility of enlisting Black people, including former slaves, in the U.S. military.

Authority sources for the Proclamation

Grounded in constitutional power and military necessity, not merely humanitarian ideals or the Declaration of Independence.

Act of justice

Lincoln described the Proclamation as an act of justice, but its legal authority rests on constitutional and military power.

Slavery and the Constitution

The Proclamation did not end slavery nationwide; the final abolition required the 13th Amendment.

Thirteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified December 1865 that abolished slavery throughout the United States.

Impact on the Civil War

Transformed the war's character by adding moral/political stakes and enabling Black enlistment, while not immediately ending slavery.

Notable omissions

The text omits border-state status details and specifies emancipation only in Confederate areas, highlighting what's not stated.