Section #1 - Lincoln’s Long Journey Home to Racial Equality
Chapter 25: Lincoln Leads Efforts to Pass the 13th Amendment
With the war winding down, Abe focuses on his next move toward racial equality – passage of the 13th Amendment which insures the end of slavery in America.
During the congressional debates, he become the first President to also publicly call for giving Blacks the right to vote, at least he says for those “more educated or having fought in the war.”
Once again, his inner circle cautions against the Amendment, arguing that the Northern public would oppose the flood of millions of southern Blacks into their states.
Lincoln forges ahead, pulling political strings, and with help from Abolitionist Congressman Thaddeus Stevens and his Radical Republicans, the Amendment passes on January 31, 1865.
