The Emancipation Proclamation influenced Britain and France to stay out of the war and inspired many Northerners, but how did it split the South? Capital letters aside, the Emancipation Proclamation could only be issued as a military measure. The government had no authority to free slaves from loyal citizens. That is why it only applied to areas in rebellion. But it was a sign that slavery was on the way out and most likely wouldn’t be tolerated after the war.
.....................................................
As previously mentioned, there were almost as many blacks as whites in the south. The emancipation proclamation DIVIDED the south by color as was Lincoln’s intention. It is rarely mentioned that high numbers of blacks fought for the south. High numbers of blacks protected their former owners during and after the war. These are facts the Yankees never accept. If all slave owners...the contention of Yankees.....were so horrible, why was such love and loyalty exhibited by so many blacks for their former “owners.” It is also never mentioned that many slave owners lost fortunes, and some went bankrupt because they protected, fed, clothed and housed their slaves long after the slave’s usefulness was finished. Look at the James River plantations as an example.
Your capital letters snarky remark is ignorant. It is well established that capital or bold letters in a word or phrase, as well as italics, are the accepted means of emphasis in writing.
Destroying the economy of an enemy is the key to its destruction. That is a fact that has been known since the beginning of “civilization.” Lincoln’s destruction of the south was deliberate and intended and was in direct violation of the rights of the states to secede. The slaves were the foundation of the south’s economy. By splitting the south he succeeded where his generals failed.
I repeat, the South had the right to secede and had no choice but to do so. We pay the price today for the north’s victory.
Certainly many blacks served the Confederate army -- cooking, cleaning, carrying water & firewood, setting up camps, moving, digging entrenchments, clearing roads, etc., etc.
We even have occasional reports of, seemingly, servants reloading their masters' weapons...
But despite several recommendations, there were no Confederate black units trained and used in combat.
By stark contrast, the Union Army had 175 colored regiments (178,000 troops, about 10% of the Union Army) trained, with many used in combat.
Some served with special distinction and suffered high rates of casualties.
Losses from all causes came to nearly 70,000.
About half of Union colored troops were escaped slaves, the other half freed African Americans.
The largest numbers of US Colored Troops came from Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
So, obviously, not all the Confederacy's slaves were dancing with joy just to be slaves!