Exploring the Emancipation Proclamation

​Exploring the Emancipation Proclamation

January 1, 1863

A Transcription

By the President of the United States of America:

A Proclamation.

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."

​Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.

And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.

And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

Multiple Choice

What was the purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War?

• To free enslaved people in Confederate states

• To end the Civil War

• To establish equal rights for all citizens

• To expand the territory of the Union

Multiple Choice

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

• Declared all slaves in Confederate territory to be forever free

• Ended the Civil War

• Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863

• Set the stage for the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery

Multiple Choice

What was the purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation?

• To declare the end of the American Civil War

• To establish President Abraham Lincoln's authority

• To grant voting rights to enslaved people

• To free enslaved people in Confederate territory

Multiple Choice

Lincoln believes that victory in the war will result in

• a full measure of devotion.

• a new birth of freedom.

• an altogether fitting and proper memorial.

• all men being created equal.

Multiple Choice

What was the Emancipation Proclamation?

• A document that declared the end of the Civil War

• A law that abolished slavery in the United States

• A speech given by Abraham Lincoln

• A treaty signed between the Union and the Confederacy

Multiple Choice

Lincoln ends by stating his commitment “that government of the people, by the people, for the people,

shall not perish from the earth.” What ideal is he expressing?

• equality

• immortality

• liberty

• democracy

Multiple Choice

Who was pushing for Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

• Abolitionists

• Confederate leaders

• British politicians

• Northern Democrats

Multiple Choice

To detract means to

• take away from.

• tear down.

• not follow.

• derail.

Multiple Choice

Why did Lincoln believe he had the power to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

• The Constitution granted him the authority

• He was the commander-in-chief of the military

• He had the support of the cabinet

• The public demanded it

Multiple Choice

What does perish mean?

• continue

• liberate

• spoil

• die

Multiple Choice

When did Lincoln announce his plan to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

• After the Battle of Antietam

• Before the Battle of Antietam

• During the Battle of Antietam

• After the midterm elections

Multiple Choice

True or False: The Emancipation Proclamation immediately set all the slaves in the United States free?

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

What was the initial reaction to the Emancipation Proclamation?

• Support and celebration

• Indifference and apathy

• Anger and opposition

• Confusion and disbelief

Multiple Choice

Slaves would only be set free in what parts of the country?

• Only the states still at war with the Union
• In the four loyal slave states
• Confederate lands already captured by the Union
• Kansas

Multiple Choice

What did some people fear would happen as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation?

• The war would end too quickly

• The South would surrender

• The North would lose support

• The war would be prolonged

Multiple Choice

Lincoln wanted until a Union victory at _____________what battle to announce the Emancipation Proclamation.

• Gettysburg
• Bull Run
• Antietam
• Vicksburg

Multiple Choice

What did Lincoln say about signing the Emancipation Proclamation?

• He hesitated before signing

• He signed with a shaking hand

• He signed with a bold and clear hand

• He asked someone else to sign for him

Multiple Choice

Which of the following did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

• Freed all slaves in the Confederate states that were not currently under Union control.

• Laid the groundwork for a future constitutional amendment to outlaw slavery.

• Allowed for African American men to fight in the Union army.

• All of the above

Multiple Choice

What was the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation?

• It ended the Civil War

• It abolished slavery in the Confederate states

• It granted voting rights to African Americans

• It established equal rights for all citizens

Multiple Choice

What was Lincoln’s primary purpose for delivering the Gettysburg Address?

• to commemorate a great Union victory

• to dedicate a cemetery

• to launch his reelection campaign

• to consecrate the ground

Multiple Choice

Who celebrated the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation?

• Abraham Lincoln

• Frederick Douglass

• Confederate leaders

• British politicians

Multiple Choice

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

• The Gettysburg address

• The Constitution of the U.S.

• Declaration of Independence

• Emancipation Proclamation

Multiple Choice

What impact did the Emancipation Proclamation have on the balance of the war?

• It shifted the advantage to the Confederacy

• It had no significant impact

• It helped the Union gain an advantage

• It led to a stalemate

Multiple Choice

What does the word proclamation mean?

• the act of relaxing

• firmness or purpose

• power to capture attention

• an official public announcement

Multiple Choice

True or False: The Emancipation Proclamation immediately set all the slaves in the United States free?

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

Reread this quote from the selection.

I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing

right, than I do in the signing this paper. My whole

soul is in it.

What paper was President Lincoln referring to in

this quote?

• the Constitution

• a story from the Bible

• Gettysburg Address

• Emancipation Proclamation

Multiple Choice

Which of the following did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

• Freed all slaves in the Confederate states that were not currently under Union control.

• Laid the groundwork for a future constitutional amendment to outlaw slavery.

• Allowed for African American men to fight in the Union army.

• All of the above

Multiple Choice

What is the MAIN idea of the Gettysburg Address?

• We must help one another

• Our country will only survive when slavery is eliminated

• For those who have died, we must continue to fight for a new freedom

• We must continue to fight against those from other countries who threaten our liberties

Multiple Choice

The Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for what constitutional amendment to outlaw slavery in the United States?

• The thirteenth amendment

• The fifth amendment

• The first amendment

• The twenty-first amendment

Multiple Choice

What does Lincoln mean when he says, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here” (lines 13–15)? 

• Actions are more important than words. 
• It is more important to talk about beliefs than to take action about those beliefs. 
• The consequences of commemoration will last far longer than the consequences of their heroism.
• The soldiers dedication to the Union should be honored with our words and the commemoration of the cemetery.

Multiple Choice

What does it mean to "emancipate" someone?

• To enslave

• To abolish

• To free

• To vote

Multiple Choice

Lincoln said our country was conceived in liberty.  What did he mean? 

• Founded for justice
• Founded for fairness
• Founded for equality
• Founded for freedom

Multiple Choice

What does it mean to "proclaim" something?

• To vote

• To announce

• To debate

• To choose

Multiple Choice

Lincoln said the soldiers had consecrated the land meaning

• they won the war here.
• they made it a sacred site.
• defeated the Confederacy.
• destroyed the Union.

Multiple Choice

Why did Lincoln exclude the Border States from the Emancipation Proclamation?

• Slavery was already illegal in the Border States

• Lincoln didn't have any power the in the Border States

• He didn't want to give them a reason to side with the South

Multiple Choice

What is a "score"? 

• 20 years
• a win for the Union
• a win for the Confederacy
• a win for freedom

Multiple Choice

At the beginning of the Civil War, why were some northerners unhappy with Lincoln?

• He wasn't doing enough to end slavery

• He was reluctant to make decisions in war

• He thought slavery should be abolished in the west

• He let the south secede

Multiple Choice

What president gave the order for the Emancipation Proclamation?

• Abraham Lincoln

• George Washington

• Thomas Jefferson

• Confederate president Jefferson Davis

• Andrew Johnson

Multiple Choice

What was the main goal of the Emancipation Proclamation?

• To end the Civil War

• To free all slaves in the United States

• To weaken the Confederate states

• To gain international support for the Union

Multiple Choice

What was one effect of the Emancipation Proclamation?

• More African Americans (slave and free) joined the Confederates

• More African Americans (slave and free) joined the Union

• Many southern soldiers joined the North

• Some of the northern states lost faith in Lincoln

Multiple Choice

How did the Emancipation Proclamation affect the Union army?

• It decreased the number of soldiers

• It allowed African American men to enlist

• It caused a decrease in morale

• It had no effect

Multiple Choice

What was the public's perception of Lincoln after the Emancipation Proclamation?

• He was seen as a hero

• He was seen as a traitor

• He was seen as a weak leader

• He was seen as a strong leader