1863
Full Description
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The document declared “all persons held as slaves” were free. News of freedom traveled slowly, and the last enslaved people received word of their freedom on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas. Today, it is celebrated as Juneteenth.
Pictured: The Emancipation Proclamation, written in script. The paper is slightly discolored and the writing is faded. Title reads: "By the President of the United States of America: A Proclamation."
Credit: National Archives and Records Administration
President Abraham Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation.
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