ok, i have never checked this out, but this is what i learned in US history class, and havent heard since, and im just wondering if anybody has any thoughts on it.
my history class was basically reading the text book, and lectures, so i will try to imitate my teacher in his lecture as best as i can remember:
if lincoln had nightmares during the civil war, they were of england getting involved in the war. england still didnt like america that much, and a state in rebellion against america would be a way at which england could get back at the US. lincoln knew that if england backed the south, the north would lose. lincoln also knew that their were a lot of Quakers in england, and a lot of them had influence. so, the emancipation proclamation was written up, not only to free the slaves, but as a gesture to the quakers of england at the good light of the north, in an attempt to keep england out of the war. also, in the E.P. it says that it frees all slaves in states of rebellion, and if a state is in rebellion, then they are not going to listen to the laws of the state it is rebelling against, thus, no slaves were actually set free by it. so, you have a hollow gesture to the quakers of england.
(Edited by abstractmentality at 1:55 am on Aug. 17, 2002)
