1. AFRICAN AMERICAN
REACTION TO THE
EMANCIPATION
PROCLAMATION
Cat Serpe

2.  Who: African Americans
-notable African Americans – Frederick Douglass
-free and enslaved
 What: Reactions to the issuance of the
Emancipation Proclamation
 When: January 1, 1863
 Where: North and South

3. Major Points
 How blacks were informed of the Proclamation
 Positive view of the issuance and of Lincoln
-Celebrations in the North and the South
 Negative view
 Gratitude for progress

4. Informed Uninformed
distribute
 Order from Gen. Milroy
-New York  Henry Cheatam and Mary
 Informal slave grapevine Estes Peters
 James Simms -Mississippi and
-Georgia Arkansas
 The Government Printing
Office and Governor John  Slaveholders attempted to
Andrew created copies to hide the news

5. Celebrations
 New York  Sermons
 New Jersey  General interchange
 Massachusetts of sentiments
 Illinois  Masses
 Washington DC  Music
 South Carolina  Supper
 Pennsylvania  Parades
 Religious services

6. Negative
DOUGLASS' MONTHLY - March, 1863
REBEL VIEW OF THE PROCLAMATION
“I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with
the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. “
Jerone Bennett
Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White
Dream
“…the gravest charge that one can place against him is
that he betrayed the trust of four million slaves who, not
having reliable information, believed Lincoln was their

7. Frederick Douglass
 Admitted some disappointment in the
Proclamation
 Tremont Temple hosted a meeting for many
great black abolitionists
“thanked God that he was alive to see the end of slavery.”

8. Gratitude for progress
THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER - January 3, 1863
THE PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATION
DOUGLASS' MONTHLY - February, 1863
REJOICING OVER THE PROCLAMATION
DOUGLASS' MONTHLY - February, 1863
THE RESULTS OF THE PROCLAMATION.
THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER - January 30, 1864
EMANCIPATION CELEBRATION AT WILMINGTON

9. Discussion
 What were your initial thoughts on this topic?
 Were you surprised that slaves were
celebrating, even though they were aware that
they wouldn’t immediately be freed?

10. Picture references
 Sources:
Primary: African American newspapers, slave
narratives, poems
Secondary: Allen Guelzo, Lerone Bennett, and Eric
Foner
 http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/EmanP
roc.html
 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/almintr.html
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html