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The Emancipation Proclamation By President Abraham Lincoln

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After the Civil War the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. The first paragraph of the Emancipation Proclamation states, "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. ” These words to the African-Americans were their saving grace. This first section of the Emancipation Proclamation promises the freedom of African-Americans through the protection of the American Government and the United States military. This was the first time this had been promised to African-Americans because during the time of slavery all the protection that they had was from their master, so the promise of protection from the American Government was a step forward that many African-Americans did not think that they would ever achieve.
Along with the Emancipation Proclamation came three Constitutional amendments. The very first amendment added to the Constitution was the thirteenth amendment, and to fully understand the Convict Leasing

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