Evaluate the extent of change in ideas about emancipation during the Civil War. Write a thesis.

The question of emancipation (the liberation of slaves) had already been present in the minds of legislators before the Civil War. Abolitionists had worked tirelessly in order to try to achieve freedom for enslaved people. However, this was not the only question that was present when the war started.

At the beginning of the war, there was little talk of emancipation. However, as the conflict continued, it became increasingly obvious that peace was unlikely to be achieved until slavery was illegal. This was achieved in several steps. The Emancipation Proclamation liberated a small percentage of slaves. However, the eventual end to slavery came with the end of the war and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.