Analyzing Primary Resources

Document title:
The Emancipation Proclamation
Author:
The Authors of this are The President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, and the
Secretary of State at the time, William H. Seward.
When was it written?
According to the document, the Emancipation Proclamation was proposed about January 1st 1863, but
was issued or written by Lincoln on September 22 1862.
Describe the culture of the time and list related events of the time.
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Lincoln soon after The Battle of Antietam. At the time,
slavery was how the south got all of their work done. Also, all of the southern states that were
rebelling considered themselves no longer a part of the Union and the Union has no control over them.
The people in the Union saw the rebelling states as still part of the Union and were not really a
different thing.
Purpose (why was the document created?)
The Emancipation Proclamation was created to free the slaves in the rebelling territories. Meaning,
that any of the slaves within the states that were rebelling from the Union shall be freed.
Audience (who was the document created for?)
The Emancipation Proclamation was created for the people and the government of the rebelling states.
What problems/issues/events does the source address?
The Emancipation Proclamation was created for the people in the rebelling states to show that if they
continued to rebel, and would not return to the Union by January 1st 1863, all of the slaves in those
states will be granted freedom.
What are the main points/ideas/arguments?
The main arguments of the Emancipation Proclamation were that if the rebelling states did not return
to the Union, all of the slaves would be free. The people in the south probably didn't care, and they
would not return to the Union. They probably thought that the Union cant do that to them, so they
could just ignore it. They believed that the Union had no control over them anymore and that the
Union couldnt free all of the slaves.
What assumptions/values/feelings does the author reflect?
The big assumption that Lincoln and Seward make, and kind of reflect through the document, is that
the rebelling states will listen and actually return to the Union. The Rebelling states believe that they
are their own country and the Union has no control over them.
What actions/outcomes does the author expect? From whom?

The author (Lincoln and Seward) are expecting the South to see this as a threat, and that they should
return to the Union to keep their slaves. They think that they will follow this order and return to the
Union. But in reality, the Rebelling states will not return to the Union.
Authenticity/Reliability (could the source be invented, edited, or mistranslated? What
corroborating evidence do you have about the source? Does the author know enough about the
topic to discuss it?
This document is not the original Emancipation Proclamation, so overtime it could be altered, changed
etc. This was from a education center in 2003 .
Representative (How typical is the source of others of the same period? What other information
might you need to find this out?
This is similar to the other documents of the time because it is addressing the people and states
rebelling in the south.
What could the consequences of this document be? (What would happen if the authors plans were
carried out? What could happen to the author when people read this? How might this document
affect or change public opinions?
Some consequences of the Emancipation Proclamation, if Lincoln and the Union freed all of the slaves
and made the rebelling states return to the Union, it is most likely that the economy would greatly
decrease in the south. Also most of the people in the south and some people in the North will still not
treat the african americans badly, and not see them eye-to-eye.
What were the actual consequences? What really happened as a result of this document?
What really happened is that the South didnt obey and very few slaves were freed by the
Emancipation Proclamation.
Short term
A short term consequences could be that the people of the South could see the Emancipation
Proclamation as a threat and would probably fight even more and be even more rebellious than they
were before. They could think that the Union is basically threatening, and now there is no way they
will return to the Union
Long Term
A Long Term Consequence kind of goes along with the short term consequence, but, As time goes on, it
is more likely that the southern rebellion states would gain more and more hatred for the Union for
saying that if they didnt return to the Union, theyd free all of their slaves.
What new or different interpretation does this source provide about this historical period?
This gives me a new interpretation about how the Southern rebelling states acted, and what different
methods the people of the Union tried to keep them from seceding, and to keep them part of the
Union.