January 1 in American History
President Lincoln's proclamation declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate-held states "are, and henceforward shall be free." It didn't end slavery everywhere at once — it applied to rebel territory, not the border states — but it changed the war's purpose and pointed straight at the 13th Amendment two years later.
In 1863: the Emancipation Proclamation takes effect. President Lincoln's proclamation declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate-held states "are, and henceforward shall be free." It didn't end slavery everywhere at once — it applied to rebel territory, not the border states — but it changed the war's purpose and pointed straight at the 13th Amendment two years later.
President Lincoln's proclamation declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate-held states "are, and henceforward shall be free." It didn't end slavery everywhere at once — it applied to rebel territory, not the border states — but it changed the war's purpose and pointed straight at the 13th Amendment two years later.
Yes — January 1 marks the anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation, dating to 1863. Lincoln declares slaves in rebel states forever free.
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