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The Emancipation Proclamation (2:14)

Issued after the Union victory at Antietam, the Emancipation Proclamation had both moral and strategic implications for the ongoing Civil War.

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Videos (10)

  • The Emancipation Proclamation
    The Emancipation Proclamation

    Video Clip (2:14)

    Issued after the Union victory at Antietam, the Emancipation Proclamation had both moral and strategic implications for the ongoing Civil War.

    Video Clip (2:14)
  • Origins of Slavery in America
    Origins of Slavery in America

    Video Clip (3:01)

    In 1619, the Dutch introduced the first captured Africans to America, planting the seeds of a slavery system that evolved into a nightmare of abuse and cuelty that would ultimately divide the nation.

    Video Clip (3:01)
  • Legacy of the Civil War
    Legacy of the Civil War

    Video Clip (1:22)

    One hundred and fifty years after it began, the Civil War is still an important component of our national character.

    Video Clip (1:22)
  • Civil War's Greatest Myth
    Civil War's Greatest Myth

    Video Clip (2:41)

    What you think you know about the Civil War may not be the whole truth.

    Video Clip (2:41)
  • The Failure of Reconstruction
    The Failure of Reconstruction

    Video Clip (2:35)

    Reconstruction turns the south into a different type of battleground. Constitutional amendments grant freedom and suffrage to African-Americans but equality remains elusive.

    Video Clip (2:35)
  • America and the Civil War
    America and the Civil War

    Video Clip (4:04)

    Discover how the bloodiest war in American history transformed the face of the nation.

    Video Clip (4:04)
  • Civil War Turning Point
    Civil War Turning Point

    Video Clip (3:08)

    Find out what event turned the tide of the Civil War.

    Video Clip (3:08)
  • Civil War in One Word
    Civil War in One Word

    Video Clip (1:13)

    If you had just one word to describe the Civil War, what would it be?

    Video Clip (1:13)
  • After the Emancipation
    After the Emancipation

    Video Clip (3:30)

    Four million slaves were formally freed when the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863, but with the Civil War still raging, their future was far from certain.

    Video Clip (3:30)
  • Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation
    Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation

    Video Clip (2:31)

    The Emancipation Proclamation refocuses the purpose of the Civil War to address the issue of slavery.

    Video Clip (2:31)

Photo Galleries (4)

  • Slave Life
    Slave Life

    9 Photos

    View pictures of North American slave life during the 18th and 19th centuries, featuring pictures of slaves themselves and the environments in which they worked and lived.

    (9 Photos)
  • The Battle Over Slavery
    The Battle Over Slavery

    12 Photos

    Explore images of abolitionists, the Underground Railroad and much more as you learn about the battle over slavery in the United States.

    (12 Photos)
  • The Slave Trade
    The Slave Trade

    10 Photos

    Explore images of the Atlantic and African Slave Trades, from holding cells in Africa to auction houses in Atlanta.

    (10 Photos)
  • Abraham Lincoln
    Abraham Lincoln

    19 Photos

    See pictures from the life and presidency of Abraham Lincoln.

    (19 Photos)

Speeches & Audio (7)

  • Brown v. Board of Education Ruling
    Brown v. Board of Education Ruling

    Audio Clip (1:02)

    On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling against the "separate but equal" mandate and demanded desegregation of schools. Outside the courtroom, the attorneys who argued the Brown v. Board of Education case, James Nabrit Jr., Thurgood Marshall and George Hayes, give a press conference.

    Audio Clip (1:02)
  • Lyndon Johnson Rebukes Adam Clayton Powell
    Lyndon Johnson Rebukes Adam Clayton Powell

    Audio Clip (2:29)

    In a heated telephone conversation on March 1, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson accuses Adam Clayton Powell of holding up the passage of an education bill.

    Audio Clip (2:29)
  • John F. Kennedy on Desegregation at Ole Miss
    John F. Kennedy on Desegregation at Ole Miss

    Audio Clip (3:18)

    When Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett refused to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling demanding desegregation at the University of Mississippi and the admittance of James Meredith, President John F. Kennedy was forced to intervene. In his address to the nation on September 30, 1962, Kennedy explains his decision to federalize the state national guard in order to maintain law and order while Meredith registers at the college.

    Audio Clip (3:18)
  • Lyndon Johnson Twists Senator Ribicoff's Arm
    Lyndon Johnson Twists Senator Ribicoff's Arm

    Audio Clip (3:30)

    In early 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson wanted to pass an excise tax bill, but, with two members of his party opposing, the bill was likely to die in the Senate. In a secretly recorded telephone call to Senator Abraham Ribicoff on January 23, Johnson is heard applying his power of persuasion.

    Audio Clip (3:30)
  • Lyndon Johnson Pressures Senator Hartke
    Lyndon Johnson Pressures Senator Hartke

    Audio Clip (1:45)

    In a secretly recorded telephone conversation with Democratic Senator Vance Hartke of Indiana on January 23, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson pressures Hartke to vote for his excise tax bill, which is hung up in the Senate. On June 21, 1965, Johnson signed the Excise Tax Reduction Act into law.

    Audio Clip (1:45)
  • John F. Kennedy Intervenes in James Meredith Case
    John F. Kennedy Intervenes in James Meredith Case

    Audio Clip (4:38)

    In defiance of the Supreme Court ruling that the University of Mississippi desegregate and allow James Meredith to attend, Gov. Ross Barnett physically blocked the African-American student from entering the building to register on September 20, 1962. Nine days later, President John F. Kennedy telephones Barnett to persuade him to cooperate with the Court's ruling. Barnett does little to reassure Kennedy, and attempts to pawn off the decision on his lawyer friend Tom Watkins.

    Audio Clip (4:38)
  • Obama Releases His Birth Certificate
    Obama Releases His Birth Certificate

    Audio Clip (2:46)

    People seeking to undermine Barack Obama's legitimacy as president circulated a rumor that he was not born in the United States. On April 27, 2011, Obama releases his long-form birth certificate and asks that the American people and press put an end to the "silliness" and focus on more important matters.

    Audio Clip (2:46)

Interactives (1)

Read More about Thirteenth Amendment

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution officially abolished slavery in America, and was ratified on December 6, 1865, after the conclusion of the American Civil War.

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