How long after the Emancipation Proclamation did the Union slave states like Kentucky and Missouri maintain legal slavery?

by moralprolapse
ra3ndy

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on Jan. 1, 1863.

In Missouri, slavery officially ended on January 11, 1865, by executive proclamation by Gov. Thomas Clement Fletcher. So, 2 years and 10 days after Lincoln's Procalamation. I can't find exact numbers on how many actual slaves were freed at this point.

-Source: National Governors Assoc.

In Kentucky, slavery was legally abolished on Dec 18, 1865 with an amendment to the state's constitution. So, nearly 3 years after. I think it's worth noting that this was more than 8 months after the Civil War ended (Lee's surrender), and also after its legislature rejected the ratification of 13th Amendment. This freed the remaining estimated 65,000 slaves.

-Source: Lowell Harrison & James C. Klotter, A New History of Kentucky, University Press of Kentucky, 1997; p. 180

Interesting factoid: Mississippi was the last state to officially outlaw slavery, when it ratified the 13th amendment in 2013, 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. In fairness, though, this was more of a ceremonial gesture to correct a legislative oversight.