Title: The Emancipation Proclamation & the 13th Amendment – Legends of America
Headings: The Emancipation Proclamation & the 13th Amendment
The Emancipation Proclamation & the 13th Amendment
— President Abraham Lincoln, January 1, 1863
Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation Transcription

Content: Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory. Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the Civil War. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom. Abraham Lincoln. From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty.