Title: President Abraham Lincoln Frees the Slaves | World History
Headings: President Abraham Lincoln Frees the Slaves
President Abraham Lincoln Frees the Slaves
The Emancipation Proclamation
“Slaves Forever Free”
Legacy of the Emancipation Proclamation
“A New Birth of Freedom”

Content: As the war became one to end legal human bondage, tens of thousands of ex-slaves volunteered for the armed forces. About 180,000 African Americans served in the U.S. Army and 18,000 more in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. Anti-slavery nations such as France and Great Britain, which had been friendly to the Confederacy and considered recognizing it as a separate country, now found it difficult to aid the South. Lincoln’s support among the abolitionists also ensured they would not block his re-nomination in 1864. And the Republican Party was strengthened so much that it held power for the next twenty years. The proclamation was not a law passed by Congress but a presidential order. Therefore, Lincoln favored a constitutional amendment to guarantee its perpetuity. When the 13th Amendment took effect in December 1865, slavery was abolished throughout the nation. “A New Birth of Freedom”
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, delivered in November 1863, referred to the proclamation and abolition of slavery as a goal of the war with the words “a new birth of freedom.” The proclamation thus added moral force to the Union cause and reinforced it politically and militarily.