Focus on history: Remembering John Hope Franklin (birthday January 2, 1915) and his perspectives on The Emancipation Proclamation (issued January 1, 1863)

John Hope Franklin earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University before embarking on a career as one of the most renowned historians of his time. His book on the Emancipation Proclamation(ISBN-13: 978-0882959078) offers useful insights as noted by reviewers:  “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. United States President Abraham Lincoln’s presidential proclamation and executive order changed the federal legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans in the designated areas of the South from slave to free.