At the start of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln promised that he would not interfere with slavery in states that already allowed it. His only goal was to preserve the United States. As the war went on, however, Lincoln changed his mind. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It freed the slaves in the South — and changed the Union's goals for the war. For this assignment, you will read a passage from the Emancipation Proclamation and then write about how the proclamation changed the Union's goals for the Civil War.

Assignment:
Read this passage from the Emancipation Proclamation. In one paragraph, explain how this statement changed the Union's goals in the Civil War. If the United States was reunited, what do you think the fate of slavery would be?
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. (Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863, National Archives and Records Administration).