Emancipation

What was emancipation?

'Emancipation' means to set free. After the Civil War, African Americans gained their legal freedom.

When were slaves emancipated?

African Americans were freed in 1865.

How was emancipation granted?

African Americans gained their freedom in the Thirteenth Amendment.

What was the impact of emancipation?

There were political, economic and social effects of emancipation.

• ❖ The southern economy was based on plantation farming using slaves. Banning slavery destroyed this way of life, because plantations couldn't operate without slaves.
• ❖ Poverty was a problem for white ex-slave owners as well as freed slaves, once the slaves had gained their freedom.
• ❖ Beliefs in white supremacy meant that black people were met with racism and violence in the South.
• ❖ Black people were elected into government for the first time in the history of the United States.
• ❖ Black people were given the right to vote when the Fifteenth Amendment was passed in 1870.
• ❖ Many ex-slaves became refugees, and some moved north to look for work.