What was the importance of the Battle of Antietam?
1 Answer
Antietam was a critical battle in the Civil War, it was the first major victory for the northern Union forces and allowed Lincoln to issue the Proclamation of Emancipation.
Explanation:
The European Powers were debating if they should intervene in the Civil War on behave to the southern Confederacy. The north had instituted protective tariffs on trade that hurt both the southern states and their European trading partners. An independent southern nation would have been hugely financially beneficial to the European powers.
The repeated victories of the Confederacy made it possible that the south might win the Civil War. Antietam was the first Union victory that made supporting the Confederacy questionable because if the North should win, support for the South in a losing cause would have possible negative consequences.
The victory made it possible for Lincoln to issue the Proclamation of Emancipation. The Proclamation made the goal of the Civil War the abolition of slavery. The European powers hated slavery and had made slavery in their nations and colonies illegal. The Proclamation of Emancipation made it impossible for the European powers to intervene on behalf of the Confederacy.
The battle of Antietam changed the nature of the Civil War. The northern victory made it seem possible that the north could win a military victory, it made the Proclamation of Emancipation possible and the intervention of European Powers to help the Confederacy impossible.
