Article #1: The

Unions Emancipation
Proclamation:
1. President Abraham Lincoln is
often referred to as the Great
Great
Emancipator.
Emancipator He was given
this title because he is often
credited with freeing Americas
slaves. On January 1st, 1863,
President Abraham Lincoln
issued the Emancipation
Proclamation in which he freed
all of the slaves living in the
Confederate states. On that day
he stated,
On the first day of January, in the
year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three, all
persons held as slaves within any
state or designated part of a state,
the people whereof shall then be
in rebellion against the United
States, shall be then, thenceforth,
and forever free.

Many people in the Union

wondered why Lincoln chose to
issue the Emancipation
Proclamation. Historians have
discovered that there are many
answers to that question.
2. One factor that influenced
Lincolns decision was his
disdain for the institution of
slavery. Lincoln did not like
slavery, but he was a strong
supporter of the Constitution.
He believed that the
Constitution granted the
southern states the right to own
slaves and therefore, the only
way to abolish slavery was
through a Constitutional
Amendment. Throughout the
early years of his presidency
abolitionists like Frederick
Douglass pressured Lincoln to
ban slavery, but Lincoln did not
feel he had the power to do so.
3. Lincoln knew that the
Constitution did not grant him
the presidential power to

abolish slavery, but it did grant

him other powers. For example,
the Constitution states that the
President of the United States is
to serve as the commander-inchief of the U.S. Military.
Lincoln thought about how he
could use his power over the
military to abolish slavery.
Soon, he began to view
emancipation as a military
strategy.
4. Lincoln believed that freeing the
slaves would increase the
Unions chances of winning the
war. His advisors argued that
by freeing the slaves, Lincoln
would be sending a message to
the South that they were still a
part of the Union. Lincoln also
knew that freeing the slaves in
the South would hurt the
southern economy. If the slaves
werent working the plantations,
the Souths economy would
crumble. Lincoln asked former
slaves to avoid lashing out
violently against the slave
owners, unless it was in selfdefense:
And I hereby [request that] the
people so declared to be free
[avoid] all violence, unless in
necessary self-defense.

5. Lincoln also believed that the

emancipation of the Souths
slaves would help the Unions
army. In the Emancipation
Proclamation Lincoln declared
that African-Americans would be
allowed to fight in the Union
Army. He encouraged both free
and enslaved African Americans
to join the fight. After the
Emancipation Proclamation was
announced, the military began
actively recruiting black
soldiers. Frederick Douglass
suggested that they would fight

harder than any soldier on the

battlefield.
6. In September of 1862, following
the Unions victory at the Battle
of Antietam, Lincoln issued a
warning to the South. Lincoln
stated that if the Confederacy
did not surrender by January 1st,
1863, that he would free all of
the slaves living there. On
January 1st, 1863, Lincoln
delivered the Emancipation
Proclamation in which he
declared all slaves living in the
Confederacy to be free. Lincoln
did not free any of the slaves
living in the border states,
because the Constitution did not
give him such power. He was
only able to free the slaves in
the South because it was a
military maneuver.

Article #2: The

Confederate Response to
the Emancipation
Proclamation:
7. Jefferson Davis,
Davis the President
of the Confederate States of
America, issued a public
statement after Lincoln
delivered the Emancipation
Proclamation on January 1st,
1863. Davis claimed that
Lincoln had no authority over
the Confederacy and that the
proclamation would not be
recognized nor enforced. In an
issue of Harpers Weekly, a
popular magazine at the time,
Davis claimed that Lincolns
proclamation would confuse the
slaves living in the South. Davis
said that most of the slaves
were happy and that Lincolns
message encourageda
general assassination of their
masters. Davis was saying
that Lincoln was encouraging
slaves to kill slave owners in the

South. He condemned Lincoln

for trying to cause violence in
the South. Davis stated that
any slaves that tried to escape
as a result of the Emancipation
Proclamation would be dealt
with harshly. He also
threatened any citizens who
tried to help slaves escape.
8. Davis took this as an
opportunity to tell the world I
told you so. When Lincoln was
first elected president in 1860,
many Southerners feared that
he and the Republican Party
would try to abolish slavery.
Southerner states cited this as
one of the main reasons that
they decided to secede from the
Union and form their own
country in 1861. Lincoln stated
on many occasions before his
election that he did not intend
to ban slavery. Davis stated
that the Emancipation
Proclamation affords people
the complete and crowning
proof that Lincoln and the
Republicans had been planning
on abolishing slavery all along.

9. The Confederate Congress

agreed with President Jefferson
Davis. The Congress believed
that the Emancipation
Proclamation was designed to
encourage the slaves to revolt
against their owners. In May of
1863, the Confederate Congress
amended its laws for dealing
with POWs (prisoners of war).
Following the Emancipation
Proclamation, the Confederate
Congress declared that any
white officers that commanded
over or helped black soldiers
would be executed. The
Confederate Congress also
stated that all black POWs
would either be put to death or
forced back into slavery. Upon
hearing this decree, General
Edmund Kirby Smith, head of all

the Confederate forces west of

the Mississippi River, learned
that 50 black soldiers had been
captured at Milikens Bend,
Louisiana. General Smith
ordered all 50 soldiers be turned

over to the state of Louisiana.

They were put on trial for
crimes against the State and
later executed.

Name:
Date:
Core:

U.S. History

Emancipation Proclamation: Union &

Confederacy POV
Reading Comprehension
Directions: Read the text and answer the following questions. You will have 25
minutes to complete this assignment.
1. Which of the following best illustrates the text structure used in the
passages above (look at the two articles as one piece of text)?

a. cause/effect

c. main idea/supporting details

b. compare/contrast

d. sequence of events

2. Which position can be supported by the information in Article #2?

#2
a. Lincoln had the right to free the slaves only living in the South because
he was acting as the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military
b. Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation proved that the Union still
maintained control over the Southern States even though they had
decided to secede
c. While campaigning to become president in 1860, Lincoln did not truly
want to abolish slavery; he was only doing so in 1863 to bring about a
quick end to the war
d. Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation was helpful to the slaves living in
the South
3. According to the text, why didnt Lincoln free the slaves in the border
states?
a. He was not truly and abolitionist and did not believe that the slaves in
those states deserved to be free
b. Lincoln feared that those states might turn against the Union and
lessen the Unions chances of winning the war.
c. Since those states were loyal to the Union, he believed the Constitution
did not grant him the authority to ban slavery in those states.
d. The Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves including those in the
border states

4. Which of the following would most likely be included in paragraph # 9?

9
a. About 20% of the slave population left their homes following Lincolns
Emancipation Proclamation.
b. There are records of slaves violently rebelling against their owners in
the state of Virginia following Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation
c. The Confederacy hoped that its new policy would discourage white
Union officers from volunteering to command units black soldiers.
d. The Confederacy did not believe that Lincoln had an authority in the
South when the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863
5. Why did the author include paragraph #5?
#5
a. To provide evidence that the border states would be opposed to
Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation
b. To explain how the emancipation of southern slaves would help the
Union in their war against the South
c. To hint at how the South would react to Lincolns Emancipation
Proclamation
d. To provide evidence showing that Lincoln was morally opposed to
slavery
6. Lincoln had always disliked slavery, but he did nothing to abolish slavery
during his first two years as president. Explain why Lincoln chose to
emancipate the slaves living in the Confederate states in 1863. Use details
from the article(s) to help support your answer (ATITIC).
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