The Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln issued one of his most famous speeches, the Emancipation Proclamation, on January 1, 1863. He was going to do it earlier, but Secretary of State, William Seward, suggested that they wait until after the Antietam victory so that the people of the nation knew that the government would enforce their words. This proved to be the right choice, as the Emancipation Proclamation secured people's trust, hearts, and mind and gave them newfound confidence in Abraham Lincoln and his role in the Civil War. But, this was not the most important part of the famous speech. In his presentation, Lincoln stated that "...all persons held as slaves" within the South's rebellious states, "are, and henceforward shall be free". Previously enslaved African-Americans rejoiced as their lives took a turn for a better. The Union was in favor of this, as they had both won the previous battle of Antietam and supported anti-slavery. On the other hand, the Confederacy was revolted and believed that Abraham Lincoln was directly putting their usual way of life in danger. Overall, the Emancipation Proclamation did many things. It freed slaves in the South and angered the Confederacy, but mainly, the speech changed the war completely.