Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862.

This proclamation, issued just days after the Battle of Sharpsburg/Antietam (one of the bloodiest days in American history), is said to have reframed the war from a conflict over states' rights to a battle for freedom from slavery. Lincoln issued the proclamation as a punitive measure against states that did not cease their rebellion and return to the Union, but in doing so, he also effectively precluded foreign assistance to those states due to the new perspective it added to the nature of the war. Additionally, the Union was able to recruit over 180,000 African Americans to serve in the Union Army from that point until the end of the war. The Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863.

EDSITEment
In Slave Narratives: Constructing U.S. History Through Analyzing Primary Sources (3–5), students research narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, and then they describe the lives of former African slaves in the U.S., both before and after Emancipation.

Families in Bondage (9–12) draws on letters written by African Americans in slavery and by free blacks to loved ones still in bondage, singling out a few among the many slave experiences, to offer students a glimpse into slavery and its effects on African American family life.

In Attitudes Toward Emancipation (9–12), students explore the obstacles and alternatives facing the nation at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation. They evaluate the provisions of the Emancipation Proclamation, trace the stages that led to Lincoln's formulation of this policy, explore the range of contemporary public opinion on the issue of emancipation and document the multifaceted significance of the Emancipation Proclamation within the context of the Civil War era.

ReadWriteThink
Escaping Slavery: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (3–5) uses the picture book "Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt" by Deborah Hopkinson and an interactive Web site to enhance students' understanding of the Underground Railroad and slavery. Students create a problems/solutions/events chart to help them understand the relationships between Clara's problems and how she solves them.

Students explore the Civil War era and learn the characteristics of the historical fiction genre in Historical Fiction: Using Literature to Learn About the Civil War (3–5).

EconEdLink
Students examine the motivations behind the South's decision to secede, including the role of slavery and emancipation, in The South's Decision to Secede: A Violation of Self Interest? (6–12).

ARTSEDGE
After reading narratives from former slaves that were recorded in the 1930's as part of the Federal Writers' Project, students conduct research on slavery and tell a story based on their findings in Reliving History Through Slave Narratives (5–8).