emancipation

A contested deathbed declaration; multiple, contradictory wills; allegations of insanity.

Was abolition intended as a perpetuation of slavery by other means?

A new history of the Civil War and Reconstruction examines the ways in which Black Americans formed networks of self-reliance in their pursuit of emancipation.

Tufts Professor Kris Manjapra examines the history of the injustice of abolition in the U.S. and abroad and the need for reparations in his new book.

Emancipation Days symbolized America’s attempt to free the enslaved across the nation. But those days were unable to prevent new forms of economic slavery.

Lin­coln’s interactions with black Americans provides a valuable resource for understanding a more farseeing Lincoln than the voices of despair have described.

A comparative look at the U.S. and Peru's emancipation proclamations' nuances in declaring the freedom of enslaved peoples.

What the Confederacy actually was: a proslavery anti-democratic state, dedicated to the proposition that all men were not created equal.

"Masterless Men" shows how poor whites benefited from slavery's end, but does not diminish the experiences of the enslaved.

Former slaves claimed the president came to plantations disguised as a beggar or a peddler, telling them they’d soon be free. 

He risked his life to liberate his family and became a legend in the process.

How black freedom benefited poor whites.

The internecine conflict and the institution of slavery could not and did not end neatly at Appomattox or on Galveston Island.

John Brown and the Secret Six—the abolitionists who funded the raid on Harpers Ferry—confronted a question as old as America: When is violence justified?

In 1866, the famous abolitionist laid out his vision for radically reshaping America in the pages of "The Atlantic."

How the fight of one Black Texas family to make freedom real offers lessons for Texas lawmakers trying to erase history from the classroom.

The holiday has long flourished in local spaces of Black life in America.

Harry Washington fought for his enslaver's enemy during the American Revolution. Later, he migrated to Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.

In the late 19th century, William Dorsey Swann's private balls attracted unwelcome attention from authorities and the press.

Likely the child of Martha's son from her first marriage, William Costin used his position to advocate for D.C.'s free Black community.