From May 15 through June 16, the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation will be on display in the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. The historical seven-page document is on loan from the National Archives in Washington, D.C..
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862 after the Union victory at Antietam. The document alerted the Confederate states that in 100 days, the federal government would free all slaves in the Confederate states. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that "all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free.”
The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is one of the most significant documents in United States history. It will be featured in the exhibit Freedom Coming, Freedom for All, which is being presented by the North Carolina Freedom Monument Park and the North Carolina Museum of History.
Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero says, “As a milestone on the path to slavery's final abolishment, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom. We are honored to share this official Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation for the exhibit."
Admission will be free.
