Freedom in Helena!

Freedom in Helena!. . , The Emancipation Proclamation , "...all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free ..." A. Lincoln , With a stroke of a pen, President Abraham Lincoln changed the Civil War from a war to preserve the Union to a war to end slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in Arkansas and all states in rebellion against the United States., Joyful Celebrations in Helena , The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect January 1, 1863. That New Year's Eve, freedom seekers in Helena celebrated into the early morning hours. The men, women and children who fled farms and plantations to follow the Union army to Helena were free! , Escaping to Helena and Freedom , The Emancipation Proclamation freed millions of enslaved people, but claiming that freedom was another matter for most. Former slaves in Arkansas outside of Helena could not exercise the freedom Lincoln granted unless they escaped Confederate control. Many chose to do just that. In the first months of 1863, hundreds of individuals came into Helena. Some remained, but many fled to the North. , The Thirteenth Amendment , The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the states still in rebellion, but it did not free all slaves. For political reasons, certain areas were exempt. It was not until December 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment became law, that slavery was abolished in the United States. , The long wished for Year of Jubilee has now come for the Negroes, and their joy is great thereat." , Dr. Charles Brackett, 9th Illinois Cavalry, describing celebrations in Helena on the eve of the Emancipation Proclamation becoming law., {Photo captions} , Right: This print, titled Reading the Emancipation Proclamation, was created in 1864. , Left: A keepsake card commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation.