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00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 727

President Abraham Lincoln exhibited an unwavering resolve throughout the American Civil War to support freed blacks.  That resolve was evident on Thursday, December 17, 1863 when the president forwarded to Congress a plan by the Freedmen’s Aid Society to establish a federal bureau of emancipation to assist freed blacks. 

While Congress elected not to act on Lincoln’s recommendation until it established the Freedmen’s Bureau in March 1865, the president continued to support efforts to improve the status of the black man in America. 

On Sunday, December 20, 1863, Lincoln assured an official of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society of his resolve, noting “I shall not attempt to retract or modify the emancipation proclamation…” This was a president who consistently believed that the black race was better without the institution of slavery.