The Forgotten Emancipation

Amy Dru Stanley, at The New York Times, recalls for us the Enlistment Act which took effect on March 4, 1865.

"The Enlistment Act reached beyond the Emancipation Proclamation, which applied only to areas in rebellion. By declaring 'forever free' the black soldier’s wife and children, the act brought liberation to slaves owned by loyal masters in the border states – human property that Lincoln had pledged the Civil War would leave untouched."

At that time the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery entirely, had been passed by Congress and submitted to the states. It was ratified December 6, 1865.

(via University of Chicago Magazine)