Did President Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation that was to take effect on January 1 1863?

Answer 1

Yes. He was hoping that one or two slave-states might quit the Confederacy and rejoin the Union.

But chiefly, he was trying to stop Britain and France from helping the Confederacy. After the Proclamation, free countries abroad could not help the South without looking pro-slavery themselves.

Answer 2

The Emancipation Proclamation had a number of immediate & long-term effects, both direct & indirect, including at least the following:

1) It began the freeing of Southern slaves,as Union armies entered new territory, or slaves escaped on their own and were not returned to their former masters (which the Fugitive Slave Law had required)

2) It enabled, over the next two years, the recruitment of nearly 200,000 former slaves to the Union armed forces, which was a major help in winning the war. (The gallantry of these men was much admired by Northerners, which gained support for the eventual push, shortly after the war, to grant them the right to vote [14th amendment to the Constitution].)

3) It initially caused some in the North & in Europe, to regard it as a cynical ploy, that "didn't really do anything", since those it covered were living in areas not under Union control (but see Pt #1, and note that the Proclamation weakened slavery in the North as well, leading eventually to the 13th amendment, which ended slavery throughout the nation).

4) It angered southerners, including Confederate President Jefferson Davis, leading him to announce harsh treatment of any blacks captured in battle, along with their white officers (viz., as insurrectionists - punishable by death)... which in turn led to the breakdown of Union-Confederate prisoner exchanges.

(This led to the overcrowding of POW camps in both North & South, and increased suffering in death in them, but alsohastened the demise of the Southern armies through loss of manpower.)

5) It galvanized those in England opposed to slavery to pressure their government not to recognize (and so offer military assistance to) the Confederacy

6) It gradually led to increased support by many in the Union (esp abolitionists, or the increasing number appalled at slavery).

7) After its initial announcement [Sept 22, 1862] it caused (or exacerbated) short-term

losses in the fall 1862 political races (for Congress and in state gubernatorial contests)

Answer 3

It said all slaves in the Confederate states must be freed