Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery with three major documents: The Emancipation Proclamation, The House Divided Speech, and The Thirteenth Amendment. On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation. This country entered the third year in the Civil War, an the emancipation proclamation declared that everyone held as a slave should be set free. It surely did not free all slaves, but many slaves were released. The proclamation was contested as a war measure and not recognized as a permanent end to slavery in America. This was basically his first step towards the abolition of slavery.
On June 16, 1858, a remarkable event took place. Abraham lincoln was chosen as the candidate for the U.S Senate, as he was running against Democrat Stephen A. Douglass. In this speech Lincoln warned that the nation could not survive half-slave and half-free: it must be one or the other. Lincoln's goals with the House Divided Speech were, to differentiate himself from Douglass, and to publicly voice a prediction for the future. Lincoln states that the nation would not last if it is divided into two. For the nation to last, it must be united for or against slavery. |
The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by congress on January 31, 1865. It was ratified on December 6, 1865. The Thirteenth Amendment stated that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime, should exist within the United states, nor any other place subject to their authority. It also stated that the Congress should have the power to enforce this article. This amendment abolished and continues to prohibit slavery.
|