Freedom to the Slaves

This cartoon, published in 1865, praises Lincoln and his freeing of the slaves. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation ordering that “that all persons held as slaves [within the rebellious states] are, and henceforward shall be free.” The cartoon depicts Abraham Lincoln standing with his arm raised, his other hand holding the hand of a kneeling African-American male with the shackles of slavery on the floor. In the background there is a freed woman holding an infant.