Blog #21: Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was not only a large stride in black rights but also was a brilliant strategic move from Lincoln during the Civil War. Lincoln knew that there was a chance that France and Britain would join the South in fighting against the North. However, by issuing the emancipation proclamation Lincoln made it a moral war in which Britain and France couldn't get involved because if they joined the south it would be supporting slavery which they were both against. This proclamation declared all slaves in the south free and also ordered that people had to maintain and respect their freedom. Lincoln made it so that any slave that escaped from the Confederacy would be officially free. Then he goes on to list the rebellious states but leaves out the border states of Virginia and Louisiana because Lincoln didn't want them to secede as well. At the end of the proclamation, Lincoln says this was an act of justice deemed worthy by the constitution and says he prays for non-violence and the restoration of peace.

Another huge step in correcting freedmen's rights was Brown v Board in which the supreme court ruled separate but equal was unconstitutional.