Why did Union leaders believe the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation would harm the South's ability to wage war?
A.
By offering amnesty to Confederate deserters, the Confederate Army would rapidly decrease in size.
B.
By encouraging slaves to flee North, the Confederacy would lose a key source of labor for the war effort.
C.
By freeing all slaves held in the United States, the Union hoped to attract more soldiers to its cause.
D.
By establishing abolition as a goal of the Union, the Union was able to gain the support of Great Britain.
B. By encouraging slaves to flee North, the Confederacy would lose a key source of labor for the war effort.
B. By encouraging slaves to flee North, the Confederacy would lose a key source of labor for the war effort.
To determine why Union leaders believed the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation would harm the South's ability to wage war, let's analyze each option:
A. Amnesty for Confederate deserters: This option does not directly relate to the Emancipation Proclamation. Amnesty for deserters may have affected the size of the Confederate Army, but it does not explain how the Proclamation would harm the South's ability to wage war.
B. Encouragement for slaves to flee North: This option is more closely related to the Emancipation Proclamation. Slaves were a crucial labor force for the Confederacy, so if they were encouraged to flee to the North, it would deprive the Confederate war effort of valuable workers. Therefore, B is a plausible answer.
C. Attracting more soldiers to the Union cause: Although the Proclamation did have the potential to attract more soldiers to the Union, this option does not explain why it would harm the South's ability to wage war. It focuses on the benefits for the Union rather than the negative consequences for the South.
D. Gaining the support of Great Britain: While the Union's stance on abolition did affect its standing with Great Britain, this option does not directly address the harm caused to the South's ability to wage war. It focuses on international support rather than the impact on the Confederate war effort.
Considering the options given, B is the most plausible answer as it directly addresses how the Emancipation Proclamation would harm the South's war effort by depriving them of slave labor.