With Lincoln’s inauguration drawing near, the contentious issue of slavery threatens to tear the nation apart, propelling it inexorably towards civil war.

A tide of those held in bondage journeyed north, swelling the ranks of the Union army and subtly shifting the balance of military might. Meanwhile, Lincoln charted a course toward the restoration of a unified nation.

Though Abraham Lincoln affixed his signature to the Emancipation Proclamation, many Black Americans, including figures like Frederick Douglass, recognized it as a measure distant from true freedom.

Abraham Lincoln secured a second term in office. Following the conclusion of the Civil War, he dedicated himself to the complete eradication of slavery, culminating in the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.