American History - Part 100 - Lincoln - British shun South - Emancipation Proclamation
Channel: ListenAndReadAlong
Date: 13/06/2013

Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.
The Civil War began in 1861 as a struggle over the right of states to leave the Union. 
To guarantee continued support for the war, Lincoln was forced to recognize that the issue of slavery was, in fact, a major issue. And on September twenty-second, 1862, he announced a new policy on slavery in the rebel southern states. His announcement became known as the Emancipation Proclamation.
American newspapers printed the proclamation. This is what it   I, Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States and commander in chief of the Army and Navy, do hereby declare that on the first day of January, 1863, all persons held as slaves within any state then in rebellion against the United States, shall then become and be forever free.
The government of the United States, including the military and naval forces, will recognize and protect the freedom of such persons, and will interfere in no way with any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
For political reasons, the proclamation did not free slaves in the states that supported the Union. Nor did it free slaves in the areas around Norfolk, Virginia, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Most anti-slavery leaders praised the Emancipation Proclamation. They had waited a long time for such a document.
Lincoln's new policy on slavery was welcomed warmly by the people of Europe. It won special praise in Britain.
The British people were deeply concerned about the Civil War in America. The United States navy had blocked southern exports of cotton. The British textile industry -- which depended on this cotton -- was almost dead. Factories were closed. Hundreds of thousands of people were out of work.
The British government watched and worried as the war continued month after month. Finally, late in the summer of 1862, British leaders said the time had come for them to intervene. They would try to help settle the American dispute.
Britain would propose a peace agreement based on northern recognition of southern rights. If the North rejected the agreement, Britain would recognize the Confederacy.
Then came the news that President Lincoln was freeing the slaves of the South. Suddenly, the Civil War was a different war.
No longer was it a struggle over southern rights. Now it was a struggle for human freedom.
The British people strongly opposed slavery. When they heard that the slaves would be freed, they gave their support immediately to President Lincoln and the North. Britain's peace proposals were never offered.
The Emancipation Proclamation had cost the South the recognition of Britain and France.
As we said, Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation on September twenty-second, 1862. But Lincoln said he would not sign the proclamation until the first day of 1863.
That gave the southern states one hundred days to end their rebellion, or face the destruction of slavery.
Some people thought Lincoln would withdraw the proclamation at the last minute. They did not believe he would sign a measure that was so extreme. They said the new policy would only make the South fight harder. And, as a result, the Civil War would last longer.
Just before the first of the year, a congressman asked the president if he still planned to sign the Emancipation Proclamation.
"My mind is made up," Lincoln answered. "It must be done. I am driven to it. There is no other way out of our troubles. But although my duty is clear, it is in some way painful. I hope that the people will understand that I act not in anger, but in expectation of a greater good."
The morning of New Year's Day was a busy time for Lincoln. It was a tradition to open the White House on that day so the president could wish visitors a happy new year.
After the last visitor had gone, Lincoln went to his office. He started to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Then he stopped. He   "I never, in all my life, felt more sure that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper. But I have been shaking hands all day, until my arm is tired. When people examine this document, they will say, 'He was not sure about that.' But anyway, it is going to be done."
With those words, he wrote his name at the bottom of the paper. He had issued one of the greatest documents in American history. We will continue our story of the Civil War next week.