Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves” in the territory controlled by the rebellious states of the Confederacy “are, and henceforward shall be free” (Paragraph 2). With the stroke of a pen, President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation changed the aims of the Civil War. It was initially fought only for the preservation of the Union; now, the Union fought to end slavery in the United States and to realize the Declaration of Independence’s claim that “all men are created free and equal” (“Declaration of Independence: A Transcription.” Archives.gov). The shift in the war’s aim and purpose was clear, even though the text of the proclamation itself was limited in scope. Contemporary observers recognized that once slavery no longer existed in the stronghold of the Southern states, it would not prevail, either, in the border states.

The Emancipation Proclamation marked an important step on the way to the abolition of slavery, and it was celebrated for the first 100 years or so after its issuance with more fervor than the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery itself. Lincoln himself said at the time of signing it, “If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it” (“