Slavery during the American Civil War Slavery during the American Civil War Slavery played the central role during the American Civil War. The primary catalyst for secession was slavery, especially Southern political leaders' resistance to attempts by Northern antislavery political forces to block the expansion of slavery into the western territories. Slave life went through great changes, as the South saw Union Armies take control of broad areas of land. During and before the war, slaves played an active role in their own emancipation, and thousands of slaves escaped from bondage during the war. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, making
Commemoration of the American Civil War Centennial period, when Jim Crow policies are still a factor in many Southern regions of the United States. To discuss issues of "African Americans in the Civil War" this NPS section is further broken into segments of Ethnography, African Reflections on the American Landscape and one focus group research, done under the auspices of Georgia researchers. Entitled "African American Attitudes toward the Civil War: The War of Jubilee: Tell Our Stories and We Will Come," is a partnership of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (KEMO) and the Kennesaw State University Center for the Study of the Civil War. Conducted in