|
|
|
 |
was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." (National Archives and Records Administration)
 |
|
|
|
|
|
In July 1862, President Lincoln read his "preliminary proclamation" to his Cabinet, then decided to wait for a Union military victory to issue it. On September 22, 1862, following the victory at Antietam, he signed the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Emancipation Proclamation, page one |
|
Privacy 
