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Emancipation Proclamation
At first Abraham Lincoln insisted that the Civil War was fought to save the Union, not to end slavery. As the war dragged on, he changed his mind. He realized that ending slavery would encourage European nations to support him and would deprive the Confederacy of their work force.
January 1, 1863
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Proclamation meansformal order. The proclamation declared all slaves in CONFEDERATE states to be free. This announcement had little immediate effect on slavery. The Confederate states simply ignored the document.
Slaves living in the states loyal to the Union (Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri) were still slaves. Still, the Emancipation Proclamation changed the war from a fight to save the Union to a crusade for freedom. The time came when I felt that slavery must die so that the nation might live, said Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg Address
President Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in November 1863. Thousands of the men who died there had been buried in a new cemetery overlooking the battlefield. Lincoln was among those invited to speak at the dedication of this new burial ground.
He continued
The world might forget what we say here, said Lincoln, but the world can never forget what they did here. He called on all Americans to remain dedicated to the great task remaining before usthat from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion
and he finished
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall no have died in vainthat this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedomand that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth
What was the main message Lincoln wanted to convey in his Gettysburg Address?
a) Continue the war to make sure the United States stays together. b) Appoint a new general to lead the Union army. c) End the war as quickly as possible. d) Run for another term as president.