Emancipation Procolomation

The war was raging, the country was still split, and thousands were dead.

Lincoln needed something, he wanted support from abroad, he needed a feel good sentiment, he needed something great. Whatever it was, he knew it had to be BIG.


He thought and he thought...and then....




Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation!

This freed the slaves in the Confederate States, IN YOUR FACE, CONFEDERACY!!!

After this, the slaves were free...or were they?

No...not really. First, the Confederate states were not under the authority of Lincoln, their president was Jefferson Davis.



Second, we have the Boarder States, remember them? Well..you should....but, if you don't, these were the states still in the Union that had slaves. Were they free? No...

What about the areas in the South that were under Union control...were they free? No, they weren't either.

Well, I guess its the the thought that counts.



Side Note!!!!!

After this was issued many freed blacks became soldiers. There were around 180,000 black soldiers in the Union Army. One very famous regiment was the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry....they were from Massachusetts.

They fought valiantly at Fort Wagner, South Carolina.

To learn more about this regiment, watch Glory, starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and the always fantastic, Morgan Freeman!