Abolition
While many on both sides recognized the gruesome evils of slavery, there were also people throughout America who were prejudiced toward Blacks. Prejudice is a word that means someone thought another person was “less than” because of a certain quality or characteristic, such as skin color, religious beliefs, or gender. Faced with these challenges, abolitionists in the Union recognized that a permanent solution was needed to end slavery in America.
The U.S. Government
Because America has three branches of government, and a system of checks and balances that limits the powers of each branch, the president had done all he could do. So, the responsibility to find a permanent fix fell to Republicans in Congress. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation planted the flag that encouraged them to get started.
Members of Congress decided that they needed to propose an amendment – also known as a change or an update – to the U.S. Constitution. To do so, the proposed amendment must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and then ratified (or approved) by the states. (Technically, the states can also ask Congress to call a Constitutional Convention. But that’s not what happened here.)
