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Library of Congress1862

Emancipation Proclamation.

Initially, the Civil War between the North and the South was fought by the North to prevent the secession of the South and preserve the Union. Ending slavery was not a goal. That changed on September 22, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln issued his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that slaves in those states or parts of states still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863, would be free. One hundred days later Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious areas "are, and henceforward shall be, free." Lincoln's bold step was a military measure by which he hoped to inspire the slaves in the Confederacy to support the Union cause. Because it was a military measure, the proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, and left slavery untouched in the border states. Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery, it did fundamentally transform the character of the war. Henceforth, every advance of Federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and their own freedom.

united states of america↗
Library of Congress1925

Railroad Map of Trinidad.

This map, produced by the Transportation Department of the United States Department of Commerce in 1925, shows the railroad network of Trinidad. The main rail line in Trinidad was the Trinidad Government Railway, which originally was built in 1876 to connect the major city of Port of Spain with Arima. It later was extended to other inland towns. In addition to railroad lines and tramways, the map shows towns and counties and county boundaries. Originally claimed for Spain by Christopher Columbus in 1498, Trinidad was seized by Britain in 1797. With its much smaller sister island of Tobago, it became a single British colony in 1889. In the 19th century, the economy was dominated by agriculture, chiefly the production of sugarcane and cacao. Oil was discovered in 1857 and the petroleum industry developed from the 1860s onward. The colony of Trinidad and Tobago achieved independence in 1962.

colonies↗