On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, freeing all slaves in Confederate territory. After discussing the idea with his cabinet in July 1862, Lincoln waited for a strong Union victory in the Civil War before announcing his decision to free all slaves. In September 1862, Union troops prevented a Confederate invasion of Maryland at the Battle of Antietam, providing Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
Although the importation of slaves into the United States had been banned in January 1808, slavery was not abolished until the 13th Amendment was ratified in December 1865. Below are a few facts from the U.S. Census Bureau concerning the Civil War and emancipation:
In January 1994, the U.S. Census Bureau introduced a new questionnaire for the Current Population Survey. This questionnaire was designed solely for use in computer-assisted interviewing. Computer-assisted interviewing allows the use of more complex questions without increasing the burden on the respondents.
The 1870 Census was the first to record all African Americans by name. Prior to emancipation, slaves were documented numerically on the "slave schedules" but not by name. Free blacks were enumerated as other residents; however before 1850 only the heads of households, regardless of race, were listed by name.
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