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Library of Congress

Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation This summary page offers a collection of resources on President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and related issues. You will find links to original manuscripts, commentary on Lincoln's role in emancipation, timelines, and other study materials. For an excellent starting point, we suggest Mr. Lincoln and Freedom, a website from the Lincoln Institute. This will provide a context for the subject, from major events prior to the Civil War through the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery in America.

Emancipation Proclamation Text and Manuscripts

District of Columbia Emancipation Act (National Archives)
Emancipation Proclamation Text*
Emancipation Proclamation Documents (National Archives)
Emancipation Proclamation Autographed Copy (University of Delaware)
First Draft of the Emancipation Proclamation (Library of Congress)
Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (National Archives)
The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (New York State Library)

Classroom Aids

Chronology of Emancipation During the Civil War (UMD)
Emancipation Proclamation: Freedom's First Steps; Grades 9-12 (National Endowment for the Humanities)
Emancipation Proclamation Timeline (Library of Congress)
Emancipation Proclamation Timeline (Mr. Lincoln and Freedom)
Lincoln and Emancipation: High School Level (Abraham Lincoln Association)

Commentary

A Bill of Lading Delivers the Goods: The Constitutionality and Effect of the Emancipation Proclamation (JALA)
Abraham Lincoln's Attitudes on Slavery and Race (American Studies Journal)
Emancipation Proclamation (Mr. Lincoln and Freedom)
Emancipation Proclamation Painting by Carpenter (U.S. Senate)
Emancipation Proclamation: President Lincoln's Emancipation Policies (HarpWeek)
In Defense of the Great Emancipator (Edward Steers, Jr.)
Lincoln and Race (Magazine of History)
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in England: A Propaganda Tool for the Enemy? (ALI)
Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation News Article (New York Times)
The Emancipation Proclamation: An Act of Justice (National Archives)
The Emancipation Proclamation: Bill of Lading or Ticket to Freedom? (History Now)
The Emancipation Proclamation: Myths and Realities (ALI)
"The President's Proclamation" by Ralph Waldo Emerson (Making of America)

Thirteenth Amendment - Text and Commentary

Thirteenth Amendment (Great American History)
Thirteenth Amendment (Mr. Lincoln and Freedom)
Thirteenth Amendment Signed Copy Acquired by Indiana Museum (The Lincoln Museum)

Abbreviated Reading List

Cox, Lawanda C. Fenleson. Lincoln and Black Freedom: A Study in Presidential Leadership. University of South Carolina Press, 1994.
Franklin, John H. The Emancipation Proclamation. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1963.
Guelzo, Allen. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America. Simon & Schuster, 2004.
Klingaman, William K. Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation. Reissue edition, Penguin USA, 2002.

*Indicates pages created by Abraham Lincoln Online

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