GO DOWN That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixtythree, 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. MOSES That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such States, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.
gradually Gradually throughout Abraham Lincoln s tenure as president, state and federal legislation resulted in the freeing of America s slaves a process ending with ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Significant federal legislation enacted from 1861 to 1865 dealt with the freeing of slaves and, inextricably, strategies for winning the Civil War: The First Confiscation Act (Aug. 6, 1861; 12 U.S. Statutes 319) confiscated property (i.e., slaves) used for purposes of the rebellion and freed those slaves. The bill s intent was to discourage the use of slaves to aid in the Confederate government s war efforts. On March 13, 1862, President Lincoln signed a bill (12 U.S. Statutes 354) promulgating an additional article of war that forbade military personnel on pain of dismissal from the service to arrest or return fugitive slaves, effectively exempting them from the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. The Second Confiscation Act (July 17, 1862; 12 U.S. Statutes 589-592) awarded freedom to the slaves of anyone supporting the rebellion; and established criteria for deeming slaves captives of war and freeing them. That same day President Lincoln signed a militia act awarding freedom to any enemy-owned slave (and his mother, wife, and children) who rendered military service to the Union. On July 22, 1862, President Lincoln sought the formal approval of his Cabinet for an early version of the Emancipation Proclamation, citing his authority as commander-in-chief to execute the sixth section of the Second Confiscation Act. Secretary of State Seward recommended delaying the proclamation until federal troops achieved better military success. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Often understood to have freed all the slaves remaining in the United States, the proclamation omitted mention of Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland and specifically excluded all forty-eight counties of West Virginia ; certain parishes in Louisiana; and certain counties in Virginia. On June 28, 1864, President Lincoln approved repeal of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act and related legislation (13 U.S. Statutes 200). It is interesting to review legislation on the Confederate side as well.as early as the summer of 1863 the Confederate government considered the benefits of conscripting and arming slaves for military service. In January 1865, General Robert E. Lee noted that he would use slaves if necessary but on the condition that such troops be set free. It is hard to imagine a thornier constitutional question for the Confederate government, deciding whether to impose its authority over its various states by conscripting, and thereby freeing, slaves.the issue was considered in a number of secret legislative sessions, resulting in An act to increase the military force of the Confederate States (H.B. 367; March 13, 1865).The amended bill contained no freedom provisions. Note that the Confederate States of America theoretically consisted of thirteen states (the flag had thirteen stars), although Kentucky and Missouri were held in check on the federal side throughout the war, along with parts of Tennessee.
ALABAMA Slavery was abolished in the 1868 Alabama state constitution. ARKANSAS Amendment of Arkansas state constitution, on March 16, 1864, ended slavery. DELAWARE President Lincoln determined that Delaware was not in rebellion (it never officially seceded) and thus excluded the state from the Proclamation.The 1996 Index to the Delaware Code contains no reference to any applicable state law abolishing slavery and refers readers to U.S. Amendments XIII-XIV. Delaware rejected the 13th Amendment on February 8, 1865; and ratified the amendment on February 12, 1901. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA An act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia (12 U.S. Statutes 376-378), signed by President Lincoln on April 16, 1862, freed all slaves in the District.The bill appropriated $1 million to compensate owners up to $300 per slave. FLORIDA Ratified the 13th Amendment on December 28, 1865, and incorporated these provisions into its state constitution, ratified June 9, 1868. GEORGIA Ratified the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865. KANSAS Slavery was prohibited in the Territory of Kansas by the Kansas Constitution, Bill of Rights,Article 6, ratified on October 4, 1859. It is not clear why the 1860 Census still lists two slaves. KENTUCKY President Lincoln determined that Kentucky was not in rebellion (it never officially seceded) and thus excluded the state from the Proclamation. On February 24, 1865, Kentucky rejected ratification of the 13th Amendment. LOUISIANA The Emancipation Proclamation specifically excluded the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. Johns, St. Charles, St. James,Ascension,Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans.Amendment of Louisiana s state constitution, on September 5, 1864, ended slavery. MARYLAND President Lincoln determined that Maryland was not in rebellion (it voted against secession on April 27, 1861) and thus excluded the state from the Proclamation.Amendment of Maryland s state constitution, on November 1, 1864, ended slavery. MISSISSIPPI On August 21, 1865, Mississippi amended its state constitution (Article VIII, Section 1): The institution of slavery having been destroyed in the State of Mississippi... the Legislature at its next session, and thereafter as the public welfare may require, shall provide by law for the protection and security of the person and property of the freedmen of the State, and guard them and the State against any evils that may arise from their sudden emancipation. On December 2, 1865, the state rejected EXEMPT from the Emancipation Proclamation DELAWARE 1,798 KENTUCKY 225,483 LOUISIANA 93,162 Parishes Slaves St. Bernard 2,240 Plaquemines 5,385 Jefferson 5,120 St.John the Baptist 4,594 St. Charles 4,182 St. James 8,090 Ascension 7,376 Assumption 8,096 Terre Bonne 6,785 Lafourche 6,395 St. Mary s 13,057 St. Martin s 7,358 Orleans 14,484
ratification of the 13th Amendment, citing objections to its enforcement provisions. MISSOURI President Lincoln determined that Missouri was not in rebellion (it never officially seceded) and thus excluded the state from the Proclamation.Amendment of Missouri s state constitution, on January 11, 1865, ended slavery. NEBRASKA The House of Representatives of the Territory of Nebraska successfully overrode Governor Samuel Black s veto of An act to prohibit slavery, signed into law on January 15, 1861. NEW JERSEY The 1860 Census uses the term apprentices in apparent deference to New Jersey s 1846 law (R.S., XI, 6, p. 382. Sec. 1), stating that slavery in this state be and hereby is abolished, and every person who is now holden in slavery by the law thereof, be and hereby is made free, subject, however, to the restrictions and obligations hereinafter mentioned and imposed;... 2.That every such person shall... become and be an apprentice, bound to service to his or her present owner. This legislation fine-tuned similar provisions passed in 1804, 1812, 1818, 1819, and 1820. NORTH CAROLINA The 1865 Repeal of Secession Ordinance prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude but was rejected, and therefore not included in the 1866 Constitution of North Carolina. Slavery was abolished in the 1868 constitution (Article 1, Section 33), ratified on October 9, 1868. SOUTH CAROLINA On November 13, 1865, South Carolina ratified the 13th Amendment. TENNESSEE President Lincoln determined that Tennessee was not in rebellion (although voters ratified a secession ordinance on June 8, 1861, and President Lincoln declared the inhabitants of the state to be in insurrection twice by proclamation, on July 13, 1861, and again on April 2, 1863) and thus excluded the state from the Proclamation. Slavery ended with amendment of the state s constitution, on February 22, 1865. TEXAS Slavery ended in practice on Juneteenth, June 19, 1865, when General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston with occupying federal forces and issued a proclamation that all slaves were freed.the Texas Constitution of 1869 declared the U.S. Constitution to be the supreme law: Slavery was forbidden, and the equality of all persons before the law was recognized. UTAH On June 19, 1862, President Lincoln signed a bill (12 U.S. Statutes 432) prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude in all current and future territories, effectively freeing the slaves of Utah. EXEMPT from the Emancipation Proclamation MARYLAND 87,189 MISSOURI 114,931 TENNESSEE 275,719 VIRGINIA 26,561 Counties Slaves Berkeley 1,650 Accomack 4,507 Northampton 3,872 Elizabeth City 2,417 York 1,925 Princess Anne 3,186 Norfolk 9,004
VIRGINIA The Emancipation Proclamation specifically excluded forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia; and the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth. Virginia was a complicated situation in a number of ways. First, the 48 counties now forming WEST VIRGINIA successfully petitioned the U.S. Senate for statehood (December 31, 1862; 12 U.S. Statutes 633-634) with the Senate attaching provisos that would have phased out slavery in the new state: Children of slaves born after July 4, 1863, were free; slaves within the state under the age of 10 were free when they reached the age of 21; slaves over 10 and under 21 were free when they reached 25; and slaves were not allowed into the state for permanent residence. Once West Virginia incorporated these provisions into its state constitution, President Lincoln affirmed the legislation granting statehood.west Virginia ratified the 13th Amendment on February 3, 1865. Then there was Virginia s Restored government-in-exile, led by Governor Francis H. Pierpont, seated first in Wheeling (summer 1861 1863) and then in Alexandria (1863 spring 1865) and sending representatives to the U.S. Congress. It was this Restored government that approved the 13th Amendment, on February 9, 1865. THE 13TH AMENDMENT was ratified on December 6, 1865, ending slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States. For many reasons (e.g., intervening legislation, births, deaths, migration, the unknown individual acts of slaves and slaveholders) it is impossible to estimate with precision the number of slaves freed by passage of the 13th Amendment. In those states that had not yet ended slavery and involuntary servitude the 1860 Census lists a total of 266,621 slaves and apprentices. EXEMPT from the Emancipation Proclamation WEST VIRGINIA 12,761 Barbour 95 Boone 158 Braxton 104 Brooke 18 Cabell 305 Calhoun 9 Clay 21 Doddridge 34 Fayette 271 Gilmer 52 Greenbrier 1,525 Hampshire 1,213 Hancock 2 Hardy 1,073 Harrison 582 Jackson 55 Kanawha 2,184 Lewis 230 Logan 148 Marion 63 Marshall 29 Mason 376 McDowell 0 Mercer 362 Monongalia 101 Monroe 1,114 Morgan 94 Nicholas 154 Ohio 100 Pendleton 244 Pleasants 15 Pocahontas 252 Preston 67 Putnam 580 Raleigh 57 Randolph 183 Ritchie 38 Roane 72 Taylor 112 Tucker 20 Tyler 18 Upshur 212 Wayne 143 Webster 3 Wetzel 10 Wirt 23 Wood 176 Wyoming 64
STATE/TERRITORY SLAVE COUNT 1859 1863 EMANCIPATION LEGISLATION 1860 U.S. CENSUS LEGISLATION PROCLAMATION 1863 1865 DELAWARE 1,798 1,798 1,798 1,798 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 3,185 0 0 0 MARYLAND 87,189 87,189 87,189 0 NEW JERSEY 18 18 18 18 ALABAMA 435,080 435,080 0 0 ARKANSAS 111,115 111,115 0 0 FLORIDA 61,745 61,745 0 0 GEORGIA 462,198 462,198 0 0 KENTUCKY 225,483 225,483 225,483 225,483 LOUISIANA 331,726 331,726 93,162 0 MISSISSIPPI 436,631 436,631 0 0 MISSOURI 114,931 114,931 114,931 0 NORTH CAROLINA 331,059 331,059 0 0 SOUTH CAROLINA 402,406 402,406 0 0 TENNESSEE 275,719 275,719 275,719 0 TEXAS 182,566 182,566 0 0 VIRGINIA 490,865 490,865 39,322 39,322 KANSAS 2 0 0 0 NEBRASKA 15 0 0 0 UTAH 29 0 0 0 TOTAL SLAVES 3,953,760 3,950,529 837,622 266,621