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The four years
of Civil War that ripped apart the nation from 1861–65
achieved what seventy-five years of compromise could not:
it resolved once and for all the question of slavery in the
United States. By 1860, there were 4.5 million slaves in the
United States. Military necessity and the force of human passion
for liberty pushed emancipation to the top of the nation's
agenda. Two major milestones marked slavery's final destruction
during the war years: the Emancipation Proclamation and the
Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
on January 1, 1863, declaring that "all persons held
as slaves" within the rebellious areas "are and
henceforward shall be free." It also announced the acceptance
of former slaves into the Union's armed forces. The Constitution
grants extended powers to the President during times of war,
and although it would not permit the President to interfere
with slavery in the states under normal circumstances, it
would do so during wartime.
President Lincoln feared that the Emancipation Proclamation
would be overturned once the war ended. A constitutional amendment
would ensure that slavery could never again resurface. Congress
formally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment outlawing slavery
on January 31, 1865; it was ratified on December 6, 1865.
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Proclamation of
the Secretary of State announcing the ratification of
the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, December
18, 1865,
selected pages learn
more...
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“Watch
Meeting—Dec. 31st, 1862—Waiting for the Hour,”
slaves awaiting the moment when the Emancipation Proclamation
takes effect, oil painting (reproduction) by William Tolman
Carlton, not dated learn
more...
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