History Resources

Inside the Vault: The Battle of Antietam and the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

by Gilder Lehrman Institute Staff

Many historians claim that the Battle of Antietam was a critical turning point for Black freedom. As the bloodiest single day of the Civil War, Antietam arguably provided President Lincoln the opportunity to justify the Emancipation Proclamation as a wartime measure that would weaken the Confederacy and help end the war. We will interrogate this claim and examine how pro-slavery Northerners influenced Lincoln’s timing of the Emancipation Proclamation. 

On September 4, 2025,  our curators discussed the Battle of Antietam and the road to the Emancipation Proclamation with Dr. Edward Ayers, Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities and president emeritus at the University of Richmond. 

Download the slides from the presentation here. 

FEATURED DOCUMENTS

Emancipation Proclamation [California printing, Cheesman copy], January 1, 1863

Abraham Lincoln to Major John J. Key, September 26, 1862

View of fallen soldiers at Antietam, circa 1861–1865

USE THE TIMESTAMPS BELOW TO JUMP TO THE TOPIC YOU WANT TO VIEW

0:17–1:52: Introduction and Today’s Documents

1:53–10:49: Political Geography of the War

10:50–13:36: 1862 Timeline

13:37–21:11: Lincoln Drafts the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

21:12–44:55: The Battle of Antietam

44:46–1:05:06: Impact of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

1:05:07–1:12:03: Union Soldiers and Emancipation

1:12:04–1:20:17: Additional Resources and Q&A

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