USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -On September 22, 1862, partly in response to the heavy losses inflicted at the Battle of Antietam, President Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, threatening to free all the enslaved people in the states in rebellion if those states did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863.

Detailed explanation-2: -Although the Battle of Antietam resulted in a draw, the Union army was able to drive the Confederates out of Maryland – enough of a “victory, ” that Lincoln felt comfortable issuing the Emancipation just five days later.

Detailed explanation-3: -The proclamation reflected Lincoln’s new way of thinking about the conflict. Until this time, it was seen as a rebellion, a fight to preserve the Union without touching slavery. Now Lincoln was threatening to crush the Confederacy by destroying slavery, the basis of its economy and society.

Detailed explanation-4: -At the Battle of Antietam, on September 17, over 23, 000 men fell as casualties in a single day of battle-more than the total casualties of all America’s previous wars combined. Just five days later, on September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.