President Abraham Lincoln, years into the bloody Civil War, issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The proclamation granted freedom to slaves in the rebellious Confederate states.
To learn more about this important historic document and the history of the Civil War Era use the links in the box below.
The first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation before the cabinet.
Painted by F.B. Carpenter ; engraved by A.H. Ritchie, c1866.
(Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-2070 DLC)
