The Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation

Adapted from PBS Learning Media

Most historians agree that the Emancipation Proclamation was a landmark moment in American history. Upon issuing it as an executive order on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln supposedly said, “If my name ever goes into history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it.”

Despite the significance of this famous document in helping to establish America as a “land of the free,” analyzing it reveals a much more complex and detailed story. As historian David Blight has noted, “…the traditional, one might even say legendary, narrative…is that Abraham Lincoln one day freed the slaves and that all across the South slaves were gathered together and told about this proclamation and from that day forward they were free, which is, of course, nonsense.”

Why was the Emancipation Proclamation so significant?

Open Ended

First, write down everything you already know about the Emancipation Proclamation. Then, watch the video and add new information about the purpose and impact of the proclamation.

In the 1830s, the antislavery movement began to gain momentum as part of a larger wave of social reform and religious “awakenings.” The morality of slavery and the issues of racial equality were eloquently and passionately argued, but not all those who were against slavery believed in its immediate abolition or in granting full citizenship to freed black people. Proposals to end slavery had included colonization, gradualism, compensated emancipation, and immediate abolition.

When Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, abolitionist Wendell Phillips said, “Not an Abolitionist, hardly an antislavery man, Mr. Lincoln consents to represent an antislavery idea.” In fact, Lincoln had long favored colonization: to grant enslaved people freedom but send them to establish new lives in faraway places such as Panama or Liberia. Historians continue to debate why he supported such a solution; however, at the time, many activists, black and white, criticized Lincoln for not supporting immediate abolition.

The Rise of the Antislavery Movement:

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Gradual Emancipation
Gradualists believed slavery should end slowly over time. They often supported laws that would free future generations of enslaved people, but not those currently enslaved. Their goal was to allow the South time to adjust its economy and society.

Different Approaches to Abolition

African Colonization
Supporters of colonization believed that formerly enslaved people should relocate to Liberia, Africa, to start new lives. They thought free Black Americans would face racism and limited opportunities in the U.S., so it was better for them to leave. Some also supported colonization to avoid racial integration.

Immediate Emancipation
Immediate abolitionists demanded the instant and complete end of slavery. They believed slavery was a moral evil and should not be tolerated any longer. Many, like William Lloyd Garrison, believed that formerly enslaved people should have full rights as citizens in the United States.

The Rise of the Antislavery Movement:

​“…we neither see the wisdom nor expediency of our self-exportation from a land which has been…enriched by our toil for generations.”

​“Pray tell us, is our right to a home in this country less than your own, Mr. Lincoln? Are you an American? So are we. Are you a patriot? So are we.”

​— Frances E.W. Harper, abolitionist, poet, and women’s rights activist, arguing against colonization

– A.P. Smith, black New Jersey resident, in a letter to Lincoln

​Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Antislavery meeting poster

Open Ended

What's the difference in the approaches to abolition between Gradualism, African Colonization, and Immediate Abolition?

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was a brilliant and influential speaker, writer, and thinker. The fact that he had escaped from slavery in Maryland in 1838, and written his autobiography in 1845, made him an authentic authority. His speeches and articles helped to energize and mobilize the abolitionist movement. In his outspoken criticism of Lincoln prior to 1863, Douglass helped to exert pressure on the president to abolish slavery.

Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens:

…This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the 4th of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom….It carries your minds back to the day, and to the act of your great deliverance; and to the signs, and to the wonders, associated with that act, and that day. This celebration also marks the beginning of another year of your national life; and reminds you that the Republic of America is now 76 years old. I am glad, fellow-citizens, that your nation is so young. Seventy-six years, though a good old age for a man, is but a mere speck in the life of a nation….There is consolation in the thought that America is young. Great streams are not easily turned from channels, worn deep in the course of ages…

Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men too — great enough to give fame to a great age….Their statesmanship

Excerpt from "What to a slave is the Fourth of July?"

- Frederick Douglas, July 5th, 1852

Continue...

...looked beyond the passing moment, and stretched away in strength into the distant future. They seized upon eternal principles, and set a glorious example in their defense…

What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?....

But, such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. — The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn…

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim...

Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation, which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. “The arm of the Lord is not shortened,” and the doom of slavery is certain. I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope…

Open Ended

Why did Frederick Douglass consider July 4th a day of mourning rather than rejoicing? How did he contrast the founding of America “in the name of liberty” with the current practice of slavery?

“The Prayer of Twenty Millions”

​“...all attempts to put down the rebellion and at the same time uphold its inciting cause [slavery] are preposterous and futile...”

​– Horace Greeley, abolitionist and editor of The New York Tribune

​Antislavery critics continued to put pressure on Lincoln as the war dragged on. Influential abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, concerned that Lincoln would fail to act, denounced him as “a man so manifestly without moral vision, so incompetent to lead…” In 1862, Horace Greeley wrote a passionate plea to free the slaves in an editorial titled “The Prayer of Twenty Millions.” Lincoln replied: “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery.” Yet, even as he wrote these words, he had a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation in his desk.

​Lincoln knew he needed what historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has called “a game-changer, a bold stroke” to gain support for the Union cause. Despite being politically risky, emancipation would strike a blow to the southern economy and officially welcome African Americans into the armed forces as combat soldiers.

Multiple Choice

Watch the video. Then, answer the question below.

How did the Emancipation Proclamation serve as a military strategy?

• It was intended to win over support from the border states.

• It helped Lincoln gain popularity among southerners.

• It allowed former slaves to serve in the Union Army and Navy.

• It was intended to trigger a slave revolt accross the Confederacy.

Multiple Select

Which of the following statements are true, according to the map?

• The proclamation applied to all portions of the Confederacy.

• Slavery remained legal in Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware.

• Slavery remained legal in portions of Tennessee and Louisiana.

• Slavery remained legal only in the border states.

• Slavery remained legal in West Virginia because the population opposed secession.

A Complicated Legacy

It was not until 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, that slavery was formally abolished throughout the United States. Yet many Americans, black and white, celebrated the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation and praised Lincoln. When he made the now-famous Gettysburg Address in November 1863, Lincoln stated unequivocally that the United States was “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” and that the nation shall have a “new birth of freedom.”

Drawing of President Abraham Lincoln with African Americans outside of the White House, Ca. 1863 (Bettmann / Getty Images)

After the Civil War, the legend of Lincoln as the most significant hero of freedom—the “Great Emancipator”—began to take hold. In 1876, the Freedmen’s Memorial Monument, originally funded by African Americans, was given as a gift to Congress to honor Lincoln. However, its design, by white sculptor Thomas Ball, has been controversial, even at the time, because of how it represented Lincoln and the formerly enslaved man at his feet.

Study the statue. Note the concept and design of the monument as well as the clothing, position, and facial expressions of each figure. You can record your observations on a separate piece of paper.

Open Ended

Given what you have learned in this lesson, what message about freedom does the monument convey?

Emancipation Day

Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not actually abolish slavery throughout the United States, it helped to change the course of the Civil War and made a significant contribution to the evolving definitions of freedom and liberty in America. Lincoln made the decision despite the political risks: it might increase support for the South, alienate northern soldiers who wanted to save the Union but not necessarily abolish slavery, and jeopardize the upcoming midterm elections.

"Emancipation Day in South Carolina" (January 1, 1863) – This engraving shows the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, one of the first Black regiments in the Union Army.

Frederick Douglass and others responded enthusiastically. In a speech in February 1863, he congratulated President Lincoln: “We are all liberated by this proclamation. Everybody is liberated. The white man is liberated, the black man is liberated, the brave men now fighting the battles of their country against rebels and traitors are now liberated… I congratulate you upon this amazing change—the amazing approximation toward the sacred truth of human liberty.” By the end of the war, between 186,000 and 200,000 African Americans had fought for the Union in various capacities.

Open Ended

In what ways did the Emancipation Proclamation expand ideas of freedom and liberty in America?