Emancipation Proclamation
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The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States president Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American
Emancipation: The Past and the Future (Thomas Nast, 1863)
The five-page original document, held in the National Archives Building – until 1936 it had been bound with other proclamations in a large volume held by the Department of State.
Abraham Lincoln
Carte de visite image of Peter, taken in Baton Rouge spring 1863; widely distributed by abolitionists to expose the brutality of slavery
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution made slavery and involuntary servitude illegal, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by
Emancipation Proclamation
…encouraged border states to adopt abolition (which occurred during the war in Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia) and pushed for passage of the 13th Amendment. The Senate passed the 13th Amendment by the necessary two-thirds vote on April 8, 1864; the House of Representatives did the same on January 31, 1865…
Abraham Lincoln
Representative James Mitchell Ashley proposed an amendment abolishing slavery in 1863.
Celebration erupts after the Thirteenth Amendment is passed by the House of Representatives.