The Emancipation Proclamation

Within months of Lincoln's 1860 election, the Confederate states seceded and the Civil War began. In his inaugural address Lincoln vowed not to interfere with slavery and even endorsed a constitutional amendment to protect it. Yet two years later Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in the rebellious states, transforming the goals of the war, and setting the stage for national emancipation. In this volume, Michael Vorenberg reveals the complexity of the process by which African-Americans gained freedom and explores the struggle over its meaning. The introduction summarizes the history and national debate over slavery from the country's founding through the Civil War and beyond, and more than 40 documents and images give voice to the range of actors who participated in this vital drama. In addition, essays by contemporary historians Ira Berlin and James McPherson argue the question of who freed the slaves.

Michael Vorenberg (Ph.D., Harvard University) is associate professor of history at Brown University where he teaches courses on antebellum America, the Civil War and reconstruction, race and law, and American legal and constitution history. Vorenberg's research interests lie at the intersection of three fields in American history: the Civil War era, legal and constitution history, and race and emancipation. He is author of Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment (2001), a finalist for the Lincoln Prize in 2002, as well as numerous essays and articles on topics ranging from Lincoln's plans for the colonization of African Americans to the meaning of rights and privileges under the Fourteenth Amendment.

'In this single volume, Vorenberg presents the essential primary sources and supporting explanation necessary to tell the fascinating story of the development and impact of the Proclamation. Perhaps the greatest strength of the book, however, is that it cannot help but foster the high level of classroom discussion this topic deserves.' - Charles W. Sanders, Jr., Kansas State University, USA
'Vorenberg has done a masterful job editing and contextualizing this collection of documents. The primary sources fascinate, the introduction and headnotes are informative and engaging, and Vorenberg guides students toward comprehension of the complexities of the emancipation question. This is a valuable collection.' - Robert E. May, Purdue University, USA
'The best brief introduction to the Emancipation Proclamation.' - James Oakes, CUNY Graduate Center, USA