June 13, 2013 – The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) will give everyone a chance to see a rare copy of the document that played a key role in this historic day of freedom, the Emancipation Proclamation.
The proclamation, which bears the signature of Abraham Lincoln, will be displayed June 19-23 and June 26-30 in the ALPLM’s library building, where there is no charge for admission.
“Few documents in all of American history carry the weight of the Emancipation Proclamation. We are proud to share it with the public and celebrate its connection to such a joyous holiday,” said Christina Shutt, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
The ALPLM will also launch a new online tool letting people around the world explore the proclamation, its meaning and its impact on history. Just click on keywords in the document and up pop boxes full of helpful information. The site will include educational resources for teachers and parents, a photo gallery and links to other sources of information about the address. The site will be available HERE starting June 19.
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, freeing anyone enslaved in states trying to secede from the Union. But the proclamation could not be enforced until federal troops captured Southern territory. That meant many people remained in chains until the end of the Civil War.
Among them were the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, who achieved freedom with the arrival of federal troops on June 19, 1865. The anniversary of that “Juneteenth” became an annual celebration that gradually spread across the country and came to symbolize the end of slavery, although that was not totally abolished until the 13th Amendment was ratified six months later.
The ALPLM’s copy of the proclamation is one of about two dozen remaining. It is signed by both Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward.
