The Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the Civil War Essay

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Underground Railroad- Function and Significance

The title "Underground Railroad" is a powerful figure of speech that was first utilized in the year 1834. The term described the escape of slaves from southern slaveholding States to northern free states. The slaves neither used railroads nor were their activities underground, instead the term refers to the numerous other routes that were used by fleeing slaves to escape from the slaveholding states, and the help they received from individuals they encountered along the way. It was the slaves' bold actions to unshackle themselves from the chains of their masters that really elicited helpful responses from both free whites and blacks along the way. As one of the slaves put it, the term "underground railroad" was used since the slaves who embarked on the route disappeared completely and could not be traced (Durham 1).

Involvement in moving slaves from slaveholding states in the south to the free ones in the north was dangerous and outlawed. So, for the purposes of protecting themselves from danger, the individuals who were involved in the railroad came up with secret codes. The free black and white individuals who assisted runaway slaves in their quest towards freedom were code-named conductors, and the escaping slaves were code-named cargo. Along the routes used by the fugitive slaves, there were safe-houses that were code-named stations. A lit lantern outside a home would help the fugitives to identify the stations. The conductors were basically free citizens who helped the fugitive slaves in the course of their journey. They helped them by giving them safe passages between stations. Harboring fugitive slaves or any other kind of involvement in the Underground Railroad put the participants in very dangerous positions, yet people still volunteered to help the slaves escape to the north by believing that the cause they were involved in trumped the grave danger they faced; they believed that they were playing a part in the emancipation of fellow human beings. The conductors were made up of people from different backgrounds, including different socioeconomic statuses, occupations and races. Other former slaves also came back from the northern states to act as conductors to help liberate those they left behind (Library of Congress).

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One of the things that played a key role in moving free slaves to the north, particularly in East Tennessee, was the number of people who were opposed to slavery and were ready to sacrifice both personally and materially to oppose it (Durham 4). Structured antislavery organizations greatly assisted in clearing the routes for the movement of slaves. Even before the clamor by antislavery groups for abolition of slavery that came after the emancipation proclamation, other individuals in the mainstream American society had already voiced opposition to slavery. For instance, Thomas Embree, a wealthy Christian industrialist in the iron business, had as early as 1797, called for the slow abolition of slavery in Tennessee. He advocated for the formation of a society to fight against slavery and sought memberships by urging passionate individuals from every denomination whose patriotism was not restricted to their own color to join (Durham 5).

The Underground Railroad gave birth to the abolitionist groups and movements. One of the key players in the abolitionist movement was the American Anti-Slavery Society. This society is the one which was credited with formulating the declaration of Anti-Slavery in which they expounded on reasons for the formation of their society and its objectives. The members of the society were also vocal about the need to abolish slavery. One of the other individuals who became very popular abolitionists was Fredrick Douglas, who had himself escaped slavery. Douglas published several papers and also gave public lectures calling on a day whereby all slaves would be delivered from the bonds of their masters, stating that he relied on the power of the truth and justice to achieve his abolitionist goals. Another famous abolitionist, Susan Anthony, wrote and spoke about the need to abolish the American Slave System, urging all her readers and listeners to make the case of slaves their own (Library of Congress).

2. The Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the Civil War.

According to Freund (123), the greatest impact of Emancipation Proclamation was that it turned the American Civil War into a contest about slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation may in itself not have abolished slavery, but it made the country to settle.....

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