Lincoln worked on plans for facilitating self-deportation of ex-slaves up through his death in April 1865

Lincoln thought that black ex-slaves should move to warmer climes, such as Liberia, Hispaniola, and Central America. In fact, the same morning he issued the Emancipation Proclamation - January 1, 1863 - Lincoln signed a contract establishing a colony for 5,000 black ex-slaves in Haiti.