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New Amsterdam Grants "Half Freedom" to Slaves
In the 1640s, a group of enslaved Africans petitioned the Dutch West India Company for their freedom. The company's director-general, William Kieft, agreed to grant them "half freedom" (their children were not free and they owed an annual payment to [...]
Tags: Emancipation
Item Type: Government Document
Historical Era: Colonization and Settlement (1621-1750)
The Emancipation Proclamation (Excerpt)
In addition to abolishing slavery in the rebellious Confederate states on January 1, 1863, Lincoln's Proclamation announced that the Union Army and Navy would accept black men in their ranks. Nearly 200,000 African Americans joined Union forces by [...]
Tags: Emancipation
Item Type: Government Document
Historical Era: Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)