Lincoln uses this phrase at the conclusion of the proclamation, where it is called “an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution,” and made “upon military necessity” (Paragraph 9). The phrase was inserted at the suggestion of Secretary of State Seward. It appeals to the audience’s moral sense and aligns the proclamation with the larger movement against slavery in the United States.

This phrase is from the quoted section of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation stating that states and parts of states that decided to rejoin the United States would no longer be seen as rebelling against the Union. If they rejoin the Union, they can keep their enslaved people for a time. Lincoln clarifies that those that decide to rejoin the Union must have a majority of its citizens vote and support the rejoining without any resistance or contradictory representation. The phrase expresses the need for a fair democratic decision. It also hints at the potential divide within rebelling states on whether to rejoin the Union.

The Emancipation Proclamation declares that enslaved people inside the territory controlled by the Confederacy “are, and henceforward shall be free” (Paragraph 2). It was a major step toward ending slavery in the country whose “Declaration of Independence” celebrates the idea that “all men are created free and equal.