point, since Most of the European nation and the south where dependent on the trade of cotton. Mediation would have been a most plausible interceding by Great Britain or France. The Confederates where hoping for financial or military support, but I do not think that Great Britain was willing to come back to North America and fight another war. Lee had suffered his first defeat, this would not have been so important if it where not for the numbers of casualties the South suffered in this battle. Had they been able to fall back with minimal losses, they may have been able to regroup into a more offensive position and continue the quest to Washington. McClellan, being the eternal idiot, failed to literally win the war on this day. By his choosing to hold back three quarters of his men he was unable to give a decisive defeat to Lee’s army and prolonged the war to see more bloody days. Had McClellan attacked with his entire army, it is quit possible he may have driven Lee’s army back to Richmond and ended the war. However, the fact that he was able to fight the rebels to a draw, kept the European nation from becoming involved with the war. The South’s only real hope in this war was the movement into Union territory in an effort to gain realistic consideration from the European nations. Lee’s inability to take Antietam may have been the actual defeat of the Confederate army. President Lincoln needed a strong showing by the Union troops to shift the focus of the war to a cause higher than man himself. Lincoln was a calculating individual. He knew that with the casualties being suffered in this war, therefore, the American people would not let it continue for the sake of land and principal. This battle enabled him to issue the proclamation, which abolished slavery. While this proclamation did not free slaves in any of the Confederate States, it did create a new hope to the war. Once again the American people where fighting for freedom, something they understood and valued above all else. While the proclamation in it legality was inconsequential in its affect on the Confederate states, it carried great power in the Union. The people needed a will to fight, they had previously been given a reason. The professor alludes to this same point by quoting, “ A poor document, but a mighty act” . Emancipation may have very well been another reason why the European nations stayed out of the war. Great Britain, being an anti-slavery country, in all likelihood felt it prudent to wait and see if it could resume normal relation with an anti-slavery country. Should the Confederacy prevail, they would deal with the two parties as independent nations. The emancipation

Some common words found in the essay are:
Civil War, President Lincoln, Sherman Confederate, Republic Election, Washington McClellan, Lookout Mountains, Potomac History, Maryland September, Pennsylvania July, Confederate Army, civil war, confederate army, lee’s army, american people, gettysburg vicksburg, european nation, vicksburg chattanooga, gettysburg vicksburg chattanooga, european nations, war american people, hope war, war fronts, defeat confederate army,
Approximate Word count = 1817
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)