It’s 1865. You live with your mom, brothers, and sisters near Richmond, Virginia. For more than three years, the Confederate States of America, where you live, was at war with the Union, or Northern states.
Many people you know have died. But even though you live in the South, you didn’t want the Confederacy (the South) to win. Why? Because your ancestors were brought to the United States from Africa, and everyone in your family has spent their lives working on a plantation. You are an enslaved person.
Two years ago, people said that Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States in the North, had issued an “Emancipation Proclamation” that set you free. However, nothing changed where you live—you were still enslaved, and the war continued to rage.
Last week, you heard the good news that the North had won, but then today you heard that President Lincoln had been killed. What will happen now?
