apr 16, 1862 - Emancipation Act

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This act freed all Southern slaves from their owners (if they could escape, of course), and enabled slaves to go where they needed to continue living with their newfound freedom. In conjunction with military actions by the United States, this enabled slaves to migrate North or West and take hold of new opportunities. (History.com 2009)

The severe cultural shifts that were caused by this - overcompensated racism in the South and migrations into the North and West - are something to be noted. Northerners had to deal with a sudden demographic chunk that made themselves home in their elections, and politics shifted gears into "what can we do about the blacks?" for a long while. Even to this day we deal with the political implications of this - the Democratic party takes advantage of this regularly in "race-baiting", or the use of racial topics to gain popularity and votes.

History.com Staff. “Emancipation Proclamation.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/emancipation-proclamation. Accessed 11 Oct. 2017.

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