• September 22, 1862

    Lincoln recognized the moral evils of slavery, and seized the opportunity to end this horrific practice in America. On this day, he announced his intent to free all of the slaves in the rebelling Southern states with the Emancipation Proclamation.

  • January 1, 1863

    Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, meaning that millions of slaves in the southern United States were freed. This marked the beginning of the end of slavery in the United States. But, it was only the beginning.

  • 1864

    After winning re-election this year, Lincoln led the political movement to pass the Constitution’s 13th Amendment.

  • January 31, 1865

    The 13th Amendment passed in Congress. With the formal ratification taking place later that year, the practice of slavery would be forever abolished in the United States of America.

  • April 9, 1865

    When General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army surrendered on this day, it marked the effective end of the Civil War. At long last, Lincoln succeeded. The Union would become whole again, and slavery would not be a part of it.