jan 1, 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation
Description:
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free. (This) ... exempted parts of the Confederacy (the Southern secessionist states) that had already come under Northern control."https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 1, 1863
Now
~ 162 years ago