Virginia Museum of History & Culture

Divide students intro groups and assign them one of the three images linked below ( "Contraband of War"; "Dismal Swamp", "Photograph of Company E"). Have them complete the See, Think, Wonder visual thinking strategy below for their assigned image. After students have completed their See, Think, Wonder have them read the background information linked below and discuss in their groups. Compare and contrast what they saw & thought vs. what they learned. Do they still have additional questions? How could they find those answers? Have groups report out. Once every group has reported out on their source, engage a class discussion to answer the guiding question - How did African Americans seize their own freedom?

How Did African Americans Seize Their Own Freedoms?

Southern and border state unionists, loyal slaveholders, and Democrats denounced the Emancipation Proclamation as "revolutionizing the war." This commentary was drawn by Baltimore artist and Confederate sympathizer Adalbert Volck, whose images were not published until after the war. Explore the hotspots and discuss how this might make someone feel about Abraham Lincoln if they didn't know anything else about him. Is this how you have learned about Abraham Lincoln? Why might certain people feel this way about him?

(VMHC Collection - Abraham Lincoln at His Desk Signing the Emancipation Proclamation—A Southern Point of View, by Adalbert Volck, c. 1863)

Perspectives on the Emancipation Proclamation #1

The Emancipation Proclamation exempted the loyal slave states, areas then occupied by United States forces, and the forty-eight counties of Virginia in the process of forming West Virginia. The transformation of war aims to include ending slavery elicited contempt among Confederates as well as some resistance within the U.S. Army, though, it also turned foreign opinion against the Confederacy and encouraged more African American enlistment in the U.S. Army.  Lincoln worried that freeing the enslaved might aggravate northerners who had tired of the war; but he hoped it would inspire many of them. This positive image was drawn by a Pittsburgh artist. Navigate the hotspots to learn more about the symbols. What perspective of Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation does this show?

(VMHC Collection - President Lincoln Sitting in His Office...by David Gilmore Blythe, 1863)

Perspectives on the Emancipation Proclamation #2

President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, declared that “all persons held as slaves within any States . . . in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." However, the immediate impacts of the Emancipation Proclamation were limited. Explore the timeline below to answer the question - "How did Abraham Lincoln contribute to gaining freedom for enslaved people?"

Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln is often called The Great Emancipator; however, enslaved people were also active in seizing their own freedom in a variety of ways - from taking advantage of the chaos of war to flee, to fighting in the United States Colored Troops, to advocating for freedom as Civil Rights leaders. This resource kit will specifically supply students with primary sources related to the ways that enslaved people fought for their own freedom, as well as conflicting reactions to the Emancipation Proclamation as illustrated through political cartoons and symbols.

Guiding Questions:
1. How did the African American community contribute to gaining their freedom from slavery?
2. How did Abraham Lincoln contribute to gaining freedom for enslaved people?
3. How was the Emancipation Proclamation viewed differently by different groups of people?

Links below are encouraged pre or post-reading for the educator and/or students:

Abraham Lincoln, African Americans, & the Emancipation Proclamation

educator materials