This painting by Francis B. Carpenter shows President Abraham Lincoln reading an early draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to members of his Cabinet. (Library of Congress)
The year 1863 was an important one for the rights of African Americans in the United States. The country was in the middle of the Civil War, with Southern states (also called the Confederacy) having seceded — or separated — from the North (the Union). A large reason for the war was slavery, which was permitted in the South. The South believed that without slaves, its economy and everything about the way white Southerners lived would be ruined.
President Abraham Lincoln was against slavery, but his main concern was winning the war and bringing the North and South together again. He once wrote: “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it.”
That was the situation in the country on January 1, 1863, when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation — a long name for a long document (it went on for five pages!). You might have heard that it freed all slaves, but that isn’t true. Only a small number of the country’s 4 million slaves were freed immediately.
KidsPost’s Christina Barron talked to the National Archives’s Jennifer Johnson, who agreed to help explain what Lincoln’s words mean and what happened after he wrote them.
What is emancipation?
Emancipation means to set free.
Sally Fickland, a former slave, examined the Emancipation Proclamation in 1947. (National Archives and Records Administration)
Who was freed on January 1, 1863?
Slaves held within Confederate states that were not under Union control were officially freed. In reality, the South didn’t have to follow Lincoln’s order. Southerners saw themselves as having their own country with their own president, Jefferson Davis. That’s why not many slaves were actually freed that day. After January 1, as Union troops won battles and took over Confederate territory, slaves there were freed.
What else did the document do for African Americans?
It allowed freed slaves to join the Union army and navy to help free those who were still slaves. By the end of the war, 200,000 African Americans had fought for the Union.
Why didn’t Lincoln free all slaves?
Because he didn’t have the power to. He signed the proclamation acting as commander-in-chief (the head of the army and navy,) so he could free slaves in states the Union was at war with. Congress had to suggest that the Constitution be changed (with the 13th Amendment in 1865) and most states had to support that change for slavery to end in all of the states.
Did the proclamation surprise the Confederacy?
No. On September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued a version of the document telling the Confederacy that he would make it official January 1.
So if the proclamation didn’t end slavery, why is it a big deal in history?
The Emancipation Proclamation changed how people thought about the war. By signing it, Lincoln said that the war wasn’t really about whether states should be able to decide issues such as slavery for themselves. He was saying that the war was about freedom. Lincoln’s words encouraged slaves to escape and start new lives as free people.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
You may be surprised to realize that the country was divided about slavery. In 2013, the idea of people fighting over whether slavery should continue probably seems ridiculous. But the country was very different 150 years ago. Can you think of an issue the country is debating today that people 150 years from now may think was a silly issue to be fighting about?
LEARN MORE: Interesting facts about the Emancipation
THINGS TO DO: Exhibitions to visit about the Emancipation
READ: Five books for Black History Month
LEARN: Who was Rosa Parks?
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Hallowed Ground Magazine, Fall 2012
What would the emancipation of slaves mean? Which slaves would actually be freed? How would emancipation change the course of the war? President Abraham Lincoln had a lot to consider as he pondered the issuance of his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862. Lincoln began his presidency vowing not to interfere with slavery where it already existed, but 17 months of war changed that.
While Lincoln personally felt that freeing the slaves would be “an act of justice,” he had to consider whether or not such an act was constitutional. He also realized that he could not free all of the slaves, including those in the vital Border States that remained loyal to the Union. Lincoln determined that emancipating slaves in the areas of rebellion that were not under Federal control was “warranted by the Constitution” as “a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion.” Slave labor was used to support the Confederate Army, he reasoned, and therefore gave the Confederacy a distinct advantage. Lincoln surmised that freeing these slaves would weaken the power of the Confederate army, thus justifying the Emancipation Proclamation as an act of “military necessity” that was valid under the Constitution.
After determining the proclamation’s constitutionality, Lincoln had to consider the political atmosphere and the timing of his announcement. The Union had not yet won a major battle in the East and not everyone in the North supported the idea of fighting a war for the freedom of slaves. Depending on the timing of the announcement, some might have even considered it a last-ditch effort to support an army that could not otherwise suppress the rebellion. Lincoln and his advisors agreed that a victory was needed before any announcement of emancipation could be made. This victory would raise morale and support for the war from the public while showing that the Union army was strong enough to fight the rebellion on its own.
The Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, proved to be exactly what Lincoln needed. Although the tactical results of the bloody battle were inconclusive, Gen. Robert E. Lee and his army retreated back to Virginia, allowing Lincoln to claim a strategic victory. On September 22, 1862, he released the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which served as a warning to the states in rebellion: if they did not rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, their slaves would be freed.
The fighting continued, however, and with the New Year, the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in the ten rebellious states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. In the Proclamation Lincoln declared, “All persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free.” He also pledged that, “the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons.” However, because Lincoln did not want to incite a slave rebellion, he cautioned the freed slaves to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense.” He also recommended that “in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages."
The Emancipation Proclamation changed the meaning and purpose of the Civil War. The war was no longer just about preserving the Union— it was also about freeing the slaves. Foreign powers such as Britain and France lost their enthusiasm for supporting the Confederacy. Furthermore, the Emancipation Proclamation also stated that, “Such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States ….” African-Americans could now join the army, and eagerly did so, aiding the Union war effort. Over the course of the war, roughly 200,000 African-Americans served in the Union forces.
Although many more amendments and laws would need to be passed before African-Americans enjoyed the full rights of citizenship, the Emancipation Proclamation was the first bold step in that process.