forward, march. it announces to the south and to the world that the north is no longer fighting to preserve they are fighting to create a new one. although it s lincoln who becomes known as the great emancipator, it s douglass who heroically leads the charge, first freeing himself and then a people. the war is far from over but the emancipation proclamation is the first step towards a new america where all men are truly created equal. [ counter clicking ]
like maryland or missouri remain enslaved. with this bold war measure, lincoln gives the south an ultimatum. if they don t lay down their arms and rejoin the union in three months, their slaves will be free. but the rebels would rather keep fighting than give in to the president. son, the president may be slow, but he is sure. once he stakes his claim, he won t retreat from it. yes, father. the south can no longer pretend to be fighting for anything but the preservation of slavery. but with many northerners refusing to fight for abolition, emancipation promises to either end the war or the union. in the modern world, it pays to switch things up. and when you switch to esurance, you can save time, worry, hassle, and yup, money. in fact, drivers who switched from geico to esurance saved hundreds. that s auto and home insurance for the modern world.
the civil war well before the emancipation proclamation. generals in the south like david hunter actually issued their own emancipation proclamations in the territory they controlled. this panicked the white house and the lincoln administration. any news, father? no good news. general hunter has taken it upon himself to emancipate the contraband in port royal. is this really bad news mr. president? elizabeth is right. elizabeth keckley emerged as the favored seamstress of women of power. when mary todd lincoln came to town, she went to the most popular seamstress in washington. and elizabeth keckley became quite a confidante and established a contraband relief society. and mary todd lincoln became rather active in this organization.
isn t freedom the next logical step for the contrabands? it is. preserving the union was lincoln s paramount priority. certainly that was true at the beginning of the war. and he pushed the issue of slavery down the line about as far as he could go, until his hand was forced. emancipating slaves is not a decision for a general to make. it s a decision for the president. i cannot emancipate the slaves. [ gasps ] elizabeth! careful with those pins. sorry, madam. it must have slipped. lincoln immediately rescinds general hunter s orders out of fear that he might lose the support of northern democrats and crucial border states like maryland. so, in fact, what you have is the president re-enslaving but lincoln firmly believes that the only way to end slavery and save the union is for emancipation to become a reality, in accordance with the
henceforth shall this day take rank with the 4th of july. henceforth it becomes the date of a new and glorious era in the history of american liberty. now we ll see if lincoln is as good as his word. and the militia act paved the way for lincoln to fulfill one of frederick douglass goals allowing black soldiers to fight for their own freedom. douglass himself recruits 100 men to join the new 54th massachusetts regiment, including his son, lewis. right shoulder. shift arms. the governor of massachusetts chooses robert gould shaw to lead the regiment. right face. with the emancipation proclamation lincoln makes explicit what frederick douglass already knows the civil war and the fight to end slavery are one and the same.