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While many historians have dealt with the Emancipation Proclamation as a phase or an aspect of the Civil War, few have given more than scant attention to the evolution of the document in the mind of Lincoln, the circumstances and conditions that led to its writing, its impact on the course of the war, and its significance for later generations. Professor John Hope Franklin's answer to this need, first published in 1963, is available again for the first time in many years. This edition includes a new preface, photo essay, and a reproduction of the 1863 handwritten draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, making it an ideal supplementary text for U.S. and African American survey courses as well as for more specialized courses on the Civil War and Reconstruction.