The Emancipation Proclamation

Summary

The Emancipation Proclamation is the executive order by which President Abraham Lincoln declared free the slaves in the parts of the United States then in rebellion. Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation on 22 September 1862, five days after the Union victory at Antietam, warning that if the rebellious states did not return to the Union by the new year, their slaves would be declared free. On 1 January 1863 he signed the final proclamation. The document is short and written in careful legal language. Lincoln acts 'by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief' in time of armed rebellion, as 'a fit and necessary war measure.' He lists the states and parts of states in rebellion, from Arkansas and Texas to Virginia, excepting certain parishes of Louisiana, counties of Virginia and the forty-eight counties that became West Virginia, which were under Union control. In those rebellious areas, he declares, all persons held as slaves 'are, and henceforward shall be free,' and the executive government, including the army and navy, will recognize and maintain their freedom. Lincoln then urges the freed people to abstain from all violence unless in necessary self-defence and to labour faithfully for reasonable wages. He announces that freedmen of suitable condition will be received into the armed service of the United States. He closes by calling the proclamation an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, and invoking the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favour of Almighty God. Because it rested on the war power, the Proclamation applied only to areas in rebellion. It did not free slaves in the loyal border states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri, nor in exempted areas. Freedom spread as Union armies advanced, and in Texas news of it was enforced on 19 June 1865, the origin of Juneteenth. The Proclamation changed the purpose of the war from preserving the Union alone to ending slavery, discouraged Britain and France from recognizing the Confederacy, and opened the way for some 180,000 Black soldiers to serve in the Union army. Lincoln knew that a constitutional amendment would be needed to make emancipation permanent, and the Thirteenth Amendment, ratified in December 1865, abolished slavery throughout the nation.

Top Lessons

• Justice and prudence

  Lincoln acted when he believed he had the constitutional power and the military situation allowed. Statesmen must join moral conviction with practical wisdom.

• Freedom proclaimed and secured

  The Proclamation declared freedom, but Union armies, Black soldiers and the Thirteenth Amendment had to make it real. Words of justice must be carried out.

• Seeking God's favour

  Lincoln closed by invoking the favour of Almighty God. He saw the nation as answerable to God for slavery.

Verified Quotes