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Introduction

While it is difficult to pin down the precise time and exact circumstances in which this unusual memorandum was composed, it affords insight into several aspects of the way Abraham Lincoln arrived at decisions, in this case the decision that would eventually form part of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 to employ black troops in the Union forces.

Abraham Lincoln, notes on recruiting Negroes: autograph manuscript
Washington, D.C., [1862 July 22]
AMs 354/10

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