Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was a declaration by United States President Abraham Lincoln announcing that all slaves in Confederate territory still in rebellion were freed. The Proclamation exempted slaveholding border states which had not seceded from the Union, and those states already under Union control. While it immediately freed only a small number of slaves (see below), it did authorize their freedom as Union forces took control of former Confederate territory — and it set the stage for slavery's ultimate abolition in the United States.

Postbellum

Near the end of the war, Republican abolitionists were concerned that the Emancipation Proclamation would be construed solely as a war act and thus unconstitutional once fighting ended. They were also increasingly anxious to secure the freedom of all slaves, not just those freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. Thus pressed, Lincoln staked a large part of his 1864 presidential campaign on a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery uniformly throughout the United States. Lincoln's campaign was bolstered by separate votes in both Maryland and Missouri to abolish slavery in those states. Maryland's new constitution abolishing slavery took effect November 1, 1864. Winning re-election, Lincoln pressed the lame-duck 38th Congress to pass the proposed amendment immediately rather than wait for the incoming 39th Congress to convene. On January 31, 1865, Congress sent to the state legislatures for ratification what became the 13th Amendment, banning slavery in all U.S. states and territories. The amendment was ratified by the legislatures of enough states by December 6, 1865. As a practical matter, by the time that the amendment was ratified, Kentucky was the only remaining state in America where there were still significant numbers of slaves who had not already been freed by other means.

Related Topics:
Abolitionists - November 1 - 1864 - 38th Congress - 39th Congress - January 31 - 1865 - 13th Amendment - December 6 - Kentucky

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