BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
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-1t!ht\'tn~, on the twenty-seconu day of Septembel', in tho yoar of our Lord ono thou~:III,I
eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by tho President of tho United
Stales, containing, among other things, tho following, t<> wit:
" That on the first day of January, ill tho year of 0111" Lord ono thousAnd eight hundred
sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of A State, tho
jleople whereof shall then be in rebellion ngainst tho United States, shall be then, theoooforwanl , I1ml forever, free; and tho Executiye government of the United Statet, inclu(ling the'
Illililary anu naval nuthority thereof, will recognizo And maintain the freedom of such persun~, amI will ,]0 no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they
lIl:ly make for their nctunl freedom.
"That the };xeclltiYe will, on the first Ilay of Januarynforesaiu, by proclamation, designate
the i;tatcs anI! ports of States, if any, in which the peoplo thereof, respectively, shall then be in
rcbelliun ngainst the Ullitcd States; and the lilct that any State, or the peoplo thereof, shall on thnt
d:ly be in good f\lith represented in the Congress of the United States, by members chosen
thereto at elections wll(lrein a majority of the qualified yoters of 8uch State 8~all havo participat ell, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence
I hal slIoh State, 1\1111 the people thereof, are not then in rebellion agaiust the United States,"
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~Ot\I, tltertfort, I, ABRAH.Dl LINCOLN, PltESIDENT 0.' TilE UNITED STATES, by virtue of the
power in me vestel! Il~ commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, in
t ilno of aclunl armed rebellion ogainst tho Iluthority nnd governmont of the United Stotes,
:111\1 liS a fit :11111 necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first doy of
January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty.three, and in nccordance with my purpose so to uo, publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days
frolll the Ilay first abo"e mentioned, order and designate as tho States and parts of Statel!
wherein the people thereof, respectively, aro this dlly in rebellion against the United States, the
following", to wit: ARK.\l\sAS, 'l'~; x .18, LoUISIANA, (except tho Parishes of St. Bernard, PlaquelilitH'S, J efferso n, St. John, 81. Cbnrles, St. Jnmes, Ascension, Assumption, Terro Bonne, LIIf01\l"che, St. Mary, HI. Martin, lin II Orleans, including the City of New Orleans,) MISSISSIPPI,
AI.AIIAM.I, Fr.Oltll •.I, GEOIlOU, SOeTII CAltOLINA, NORTH CAROLINA, ,\ND VIROINI,I, (except the fortyeight cOlllllil's Ilesignatel! :IS West Virginia, 1I.IllI also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac, North:1I1I[1tOIl, Eii1.aueth City, York, Prillcess Ann, anu Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk
and p'orl~lIIollth ,) amI whieh cxcepted partf! ore for the present left precisely as if this
pruclalllation were not issllel!.
An,1 uy rirtu o IIf lhe power III II 1 lor the purpose aforesaid, I UO oruer and declaro that
:tll l'c r~o ll s hl'ld as ~Iav('s within said designateu States lind parts of Stales aro and henco1',,\"11":11"11 ~ hall be free; and that Ihe Executire govel"llm\lnt of tho United States, including
I he lIIililar.,· :11111 lIaral llI1lhoril i ('~ thereof, will recognize and maintain tho freeuom of !laiu
p c r:o ll ~.
And I hcrchy clljt)ill I!['UII t Ito peo ple tiO lleclarcd to be free to abstain fro III all violence,
nnkss in neecssary ~clf-Ilefellce; :IntI I recomlllend to the\l1 that, in all cases when nlloweu,
lltl'y lahl)!' filithfully f"r reaso nahle wllges .
. \11111 fllrtlt"r declare atlll mak e known thal sneh persolls, of suitable condit.ion, will be
\"I'I·I·i,·(',1 inti) tlte a rm ed senko uf th e United States, to ~\l"rison forts, positions, stations, anu
III her 1'1:It ·c~, a nd to lila n "esseb of" a II surt~ ill saiJ sen' ice.
A 1111 UPOII tlti ~ net, sin cc rely beliel'ed to be an act of justieo warranted hy tho Conatit uti!)n UpOIl military lIe"l" s~ ity, I inroku the cOllshlerate judgment of mankind IIml tbo graciou~
I:,,'or of Altllighty (iO tl.
III 'I"itlll" ~ wlll'rco r I ltar O) h('rellnto ~et Iny IlallCI and caused the seal of Ihe United
!)tat('~ tn hI" ani xed.
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Dl)IIe aL lh.) t'ITI' OF WASIIIXGTON lhis fir~ t uay o\" .January, ill tho year of our
1,,,nl OIlC thousallll eight hundrcil anti sixly-three, IIlIti o\" tho Illdepenli enl"e of the Ullitull ~Iale:; of America the eighty-sevonth.
A true ('o P.", willa the nlltH~rul'h fot ignntnrcs of the President u:al the Sccrclury uf StatC'.
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Emancipation Proclamation
Signed by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War on January 1, 1863.
The original is at the Library of Congress.
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