Lincoln’s Dilemma

As Lincoln prepares to take office, the debate over slavery pushes the country toward a civil war.

Thousands of enslaved people flee north and join Union forces, tipping the scales of military power. Lincoln strategizes the path to reunification.

Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, but Black Americans like Frederick Douglass know it’s a far cry from abolition.

Lincoln wins reelection. In the aftermath of the war, he commits himself to abolishing slavery and passes the 13th Amendment.