The Emancipation Proclamation

Have students return to their original groups of four. Pass out the attached Paired Text Analysis Documents and the Paired Text Analysis Chart to each student. These documents include the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and an excerpt from Lincoln's first inaugural address in 1861. 

Share with students that, before they can determine how the Emancipation Proclamation impacted the goals of the Civil War, as well as slavery, they should try to gain an understanding of what the purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation was.

Ask students to read through the first document, "The Emancipation Proclamation," once with their groups. Then, display slide 8. Ask students to read though a second time, using the Why-Lighting strategy. Have them highlight three main ideas they see represented in the text. In the margins, students should annotate why they highlighted those phrases.

Next, using a modified Paired Texts H-Chart strategy, ask students to fill out the "Text 1: The Emancipation Proclamation" section of the Paired Text Analysis chart by summarizing the three main ideas of the Emancipation Proclamation. Give groups enough time to finish.

Ask each group to read one of the main ideas they included in their chart. Once all groups have spoken, be sure the ideas covered in the attached Paired Text Analysis Chart (Answer Key) have been shared or discussed. Move to slide 9 to allow students to check their own answers and make sure they have all three ideas written in their charts.

Display slide 10. Have students read the second document, an excerpt from President Lincoln's first inaugural address, one time with their groups. Remind students that Lincoln wrote his first inaugural address when he became president, 2 years before he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. 

Ask students to compare the goals of the Union at the beginning of the Civil War versus after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, considering how those goals were connected to slavery. Allow time for students to finish reading. 

As with before, ask students to read through a second time with the Why-Lighting strategy, this time looking for the most important idea represented in the excerpt from Lincoln's speech. Students should highlight this phrase, then annotate or explain in the margin why they highlighted the phrase or provide a summary of the idea they chose.

Once groups have finished Why-Lighting, ask students to summarize the main idea of Lincoln's first inaugural address in the "Text 2: Lincoln's First Inaugural Address" section of the Paired Text Analysis Chart. After groups are finished, call on various group representatives to read their main idea from the excerpt.

Display slide 11 and emphasize that in Lincoln’s first inaugural address he said he would not interfere with the institution of slavery. An extended version of this answer can also be found in the attached Paired Text Analysis Chart (Answer Key).

After this discussion, ask students to consider what they can determine about the goals for the Union during the Civil War based on evidence from both sources they read. Give groups about 5–10 minutes to create a response for question #1 in the "Both Texts Together" section of the Paired Text Analysis Chart. See the Paired Text Analysis Chart (Answer Key) for possible student responses.

Once students have completed their responses, call on each group to read it to the class. After all groups have shared, display slide 12 to further reiterate that, based on the evidence, it is clear that over the course of the war, with the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, the goals were expanded to include freeing enslaved people in addition to preserving the Union.

Next, direct students to question #2 in the "Both Texts Together" section of the Paired Text Analysis Chart: How does the Emancipation Proclamation impact slavery? Explain. Give students 5–10 minutes to consider the two texts and their prior knowledge about slavery in the United States. Students should again work with their groups to create a response to write in their charts.

Once students have completed their responses, call on each group to read it to the class. As student groups share, offer them verbal feedback, and allow students to modify their responses based on teacher and peer feedback. Show slide 13 to further reiterate that the Emancipation Proclamation threatened the institution of slavery by freeing enslaved people in the states rebelling against the U.S. and by allowing formerly enslaved people to fight for their own freedom and the abolition of slavery.

Finally, move to slide 14 and ask students to revisit their card sort. Allow students about 5 minutes to make any changes to their card sorts based on what they have learned through their analysis of the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln's first inaugural address.

Call on each group at least once to choose one of the cards and explain to the whole class how they categorized it and why. The explanation of "why" is most important to generate discussion about the popular misconceptions of the Emancipation Proclamation, its significance, and its limitations. For a complete set of answers, see the attached Card Sort (Answer Key).