--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Emancipation was a proclamation, but not…" description: "\"Emancipation was a proclamation, but not a fact.\" — Lyndon B. Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/lyndon-b-johnson-684_emancipation_emancipation-was-a-proclamation-but-not_2732939.png" --- # Emancipation was a proclamation, but not a fact. ![“Emancipation was a proclamation, but not a fact.” quote by Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/lyndon-b-johnson-684_emancipation_emancipation-was-a-proclamation-but-not_2732939.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/lyndon-b-johnson-684_emancipation_emancipation-was-a-proclamation-but-not_2732939.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/lyndon-b-johnson-684_emancipation_emancipation-was-a-proclamation-but-not_2732939.png) > “Emancipation was a proclamation, but not a fact.” [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legal declarations alone do not guarantee actual freedom for people. **In simple terms:** Proclamations need real change. Key Takeaway Push for enforcement of rights. Themes civil rights law implementation social justice policy Mood hopeful determined Type political inspirational When to use this quote - voting rights - education reform - community organizing Key Concepts legal theory social movements political will Questions to Reflect On - What steps ensure laws become reality? - How can citizens hold governments accountable? A Different Perspective Legal change can be slow and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emancipation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipation/) [Emancipation proclamation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipation-proclamation/) [Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Proclamation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proclamation/) [Proclamation Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proclamation-fact-2968759/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [The Emancipation Proclamation is predicated upon the idea that the President may so annul the constitutions and laws of sovereign states, overthrow their domestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melville-fuller/the-emancipation-proclamation-is-predicated-upon-the-idea-that-the/) [Melville Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melville-fuller/) > [ The same thing that Uncle Tom did on the plantation before \[Abe\] Lincoln issued the so-called Emancipation Proclamation.I have no thinking on the matter.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-same-thing-that-uncle-tom-did-on-the-plantation-before-abe/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Everything African-Americans - every freedom they have obtained - came from Republicans, not Democrats. All the way back to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-cruz/everything-african-americans-every-freedom-they-have-obtained-came/) [Rafael Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-cruz/) > [The arc of American history almost inevitably moves toward freedom. Whether it's Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, the expansion of women's rights or, now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcgreevey/the-arc-of-american-history-almost-inevitably-moves-toward-freedom/) [James McGreevey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcgreevey/) > [You dislike the emancipation proclamation; and, perhaps, would have it retracted. You say it is unconstitutional - I think differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/you-dislike-the-emancipation-proclamation-and-perhaps-would-have-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Lincoln has accepted America as a biracial society. He's talking about giving at least some black men the right to vote. In the Emancipation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/lincoln-has-accepted-america-as-a-biracial-society-he-s-talking-about/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [The Emancipation Proclamation...can remind us in 2013 of all the mistakes we never want to commit again but it can also motivate us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/the-emancipation-proclamation-can-remind-us-in-2013-of-all-the/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men's skins, emancipation will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson-2/until-justice-is-blind-to-color-until-education-is-unaware-of-race/) [Lyndon B Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson-2/) > [If the Emancipation Proclamation was authentic, you wouldn't have a race problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-the-emancipation-proclamation-was-authentic-you-wouldn-t-have-a/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Emancipation Proclamation, which gave federal legal status to slaves, was in fact an executive order. And,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-akart/emancipation-proclamation-which-gave-federal-legal-status-to-slaves/) [Bobby Akart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-akart/) > [Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/five-score-years-ago-a-great-american-in-whose-symbolic-shadow-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I repeat the declaration made a year ago, that 'while I remain in my present position I shall not attempt to retract or modify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-repeat-the-declaration-made-a-year-ago-that-while-i-remain-in-my/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [You know, the Emancipation Proclamation was like giving freedom to domestic animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-know-the-emancipation-proclamation-was-like-giving-freedom-to/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ Well, before the New Deal...\[The Emancipation Proclamation\] would be a good start. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/well-before-the-new-deal-the-emancipation-proclamation-would-be-a/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [The fact that an African American sits in the White House at the helm of government in the United States of America on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/the-fact-that-an-african-american-sits-in-the-white-house-at-the-helm/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) ## More by Lyndon B. Johnson > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject itself, or know where to find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/knowledge-is-of-two-kinds-we-know-a-subject-itself-or-know-where-to/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [We come to reason, not to dominate. We do not seek to have our way, but to find a common way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/we-come-to-reason-not-to-dominate-we-do-not-seek-to-have-our-way-but/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. First, let her think she's having her own way. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-have-learned-that-only-two-things-are-necessary-to-keep-one-s-wife/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/for-me-it-is-a-deep-personal-tragedy-i-know-that-the-world-shares-the/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Today, 8 million adult Americans, more than the entire population of Michigan, have not finished 5 years of school. Nearly 20 million have not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/today-8-million-adult-americans-more-than-the-entire-population-of/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Republicans simply don't know how to manage the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/republicans-simply-don-t-know-how-to-manage-the-economy/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I don't believe I'll ever get credit for anything I do in foreign affairs, no matter how successful it is, because I didn't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-don-t-believe-i-ll-ever-get-credit-for-anything-i-do-in-foreign/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [There are no favorites in my office. I treat them all with the same general inconsideration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-are-no-favorites-in-my-office-i-treat-them-all-with-the-same/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I'm the only president you've got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-m-the-only-president-you-ve-got/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I am afraid, ... that health begins, after seventy, and often long before, to have a meaning different from that which it had at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-am-afraid-that-health-begins-after-seventy-and-often-long-before-to/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [The family is the corner stone of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/the-family-is-the-corner-stone-of-our-society/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Never make a speech at a country dance or a football game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/never-make-a-speech-at-a-country-dance-or-a-football-game/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Our society is illuminated by the spiritual insights of the Hebrew prophets. America and Israel have a common love of human freedom and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/our-society-is-illuminated-by-the-spiritual-insights-of-the-hebrew/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) [Explore all 411 Lyndon B. Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## More Emancipation quotes > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities of higher education, for the full development of her faculties, forces of mind and body;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-strongest-reason-for-giving-woman-all-the-opportunities-of-higher/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [The history of woman is the history of the continued and universal oppression of one sex by the other. The emancipation of woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-celeste-claflin/the-history-of-woman-is-the-history-of-the-continued-and-universal/) [Tennessee Celeste Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-celeste-claflin/) > [And with iPods and iPads, and Xboxes and PlayStations - none of which I know how to work - information becomes a distraction, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/and-with-ipods-and-ipads-and-xboxes-and-playstations-none-of-which-i/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In emancipation from the fears that beset the slave of circumstance he will experience a profound joy, and through all the vicissitudes of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-emancipation-from-the-fears-that-beset-the-slave-of-circumstance/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Before and after emancipation, the Negro, in self-defense, was propelled toward the white employer. The endowments of wealthy white men have developed great institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/before-and-after-emancipation-the-negro-in-self-defense-was-propelled/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Wherever capitalism appears, in pursuit of its mission of exploitation, there will Socialism, fertilized by misery, watered by tears, and vitalized by agitation be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/wherever-capitalism-appears-in-pursuit-of-its-mission-of-exploitation/) [Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/) > [“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/bringing-the-gifts-that-my-ancestors-gave-i-am-the-dream-and-the-hope/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes... Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arshile-gorky/abstraction-allows-man-to-see-with-his-mind-what-he-cannot-physically/) [Arshile Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arshile-gorky/) > [Abraham Lincoln would have been happy to have solved the slavery problem by compensation - in fact, drew up a gradual, compensated emancipation plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/abraham-lincoln-would-have-been-happy-to-have-solved-the-slavery/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [The Emancipation Proclamation is predicated upon the idea that the President may so annul the constitutions and laws of sovereign states, overthrow their domestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melville-fuller/the-emancipation-proclamation-is-predicated-upon-the-idea-that-the/) [Melville Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melville-fuller/) > [“The discourse of work as pure emancipation depends on blocking out class and age constantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-power/the-discourse-of-work-as-pure-emancipation-depends-on-blocking-out/) [Nina Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-power/) > [The truth alone has never set anyone free. It is only DOUBT which will bring about mental emancipation. Without the wonderful element of doubt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-szandor-lavey/the-truth-alone-has-never-set-anyone-free-it-is-only-doubt-which-will/) [Anton Szandor LaVey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-szandor-lavey/) > [He will see himself and life and the world as truly as our human limitations will permit; realizing the brevity and minuteness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/he-will-see-himself-and-life-and-the-world-as-truly-as-our-human/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [You point out that war is only a symptom of the whole horrid business of human behavior, and cannot be isolated. And that, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/you-point-out-that-war-is-only-a-symptom-of-the-whole-horrid-business/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) [Browse all 302 Emancipation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Emancipation was a proclamation, but not a fact.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lyndon B. 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