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“That on the first day of January,
in the year of our Lord one
“That the Executive will, on the
first day of January aforesaid, by
thousand eight hundred and sixty-
proclamation, designate the States
within any State or designated part
the people thereof, respectively,
three, all persons held as slaves
of a State, the people whereof
and parts of States, if any, in which
shall then be in rebellion against
shall then be in rebellion
the United States; and the fact that
shall be then, thenceforward, and
respectively, shall then be in
against the United States,
any State, or the people thereof,
forever free; and the Executive
rebellion against the United States;
including the military and naval
people thereof, shall on that day
Government of the United States,
and the fact that any State, or the
authority thereof, will recognize
be, in good faith, represented in the
persons, and will do no act or acts
members chosen thereto at
and maintain the freedom of such
MOSES
Congress of the United States by
to repress such persons, or any of
elections wherein a majority of the
for their actual freedom.
have participated, shall, in the
them, in any efforts they may make
qualified voters of such State shall
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 376378), 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
Berkeley
Accomack
Northampton
Elizabeth City
York
Princess Anne
Norfolk
Slaves
1,650
4,507
3,872
2,417
1,925
3,186
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
LEGISLATION
1860 U.S. CENSUS LEGISLATION
DELAWARE
EMANCIPATION
PROCLAMATION
1863–1865
1,798
1,798
1,798
1,798
MARYLAND
87,189
87,189
87,189
18
0
18
ALABAMA
435,080
435,080
0
0
FLORIDA
61,745
0
0
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
NEW JERSEY
ARKANSAS
GEORGIA
3,185
18
0
18
0
111,115
111,115
0
462,198
462,198
0
61,745
0
0
0
KENTUCKY
225,483
225,483
225,483
225,483
MISSISSIPPI
436,631
436,631
0
0
NORTH CAROLINA
331,059
331,059
0
0
LOUISIANA
MISSOURI
SOUTH CAROLINA
331,726
114,931
402,406
331,726
93,162
114,931
114,931
402,406
0
0
0
0
TENNESSEE
275,719
275,719
275,719
0
VIRGINIA
490,865
490,865
39,322
39,322
KANSAS
2
0
0
0
TEXAS
NEBRASKA
UTAH
TOTAL SLAVES
182,566
182,566
0
0
15
0
0
0
3,953,760
3,950,529
837,622
266,621
29
0
0
0