The Union army finally was able to win a major battle, and especially a battle waged in their own territory. Although, the Confederates were not destroyed and would be allowed to fight yet another day. So far the Civil War tormented Lincoln as he may have paced in the Oval Office. The main problem at this point was that the Union Soldiers had nothing to fight for in their minds, note they weren't thinking like Lincoln. The Confederates had everything to fight for. They were being attacked near their homes and were fighting for the South. Many of the Union soldiers believed the South had the right to secede and didn't fill it necessary to restore the Union with force. At this point the war was waged as a major disagreement over State's Rights with slavery spurring on this issue, but Slavery was not the main issue. Slavery in Europe was outlawed and thought to be an atrocity, and in many parts of the north was also thought of as an atrocity but not by all in the North. Lincoln was faced with a difficult decision and one which would inevitably restore the Union, he announced the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves. Well it was a bit more complex than this. But what it did is really make the war over Slavery and give the Northerners something to fight for, a cause if you will, and this strategy worked brilliantly. It kept Europe from supporting the South and this isolated the Confederacy. The greater impact of the Emancipation Proclamation was that it also was a major step in eliminating the practice of Slavery in the United States, and eliminating this evil eventually restored the Union. James Ross Lance |