150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation

Proclamation 8923 of December 31, 2012

150th Anniversary of the Emancipation
Proclamation

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On December 31, 1862, our Nation marked the end of
another year of civil war. At Shiloh and Seven Pines,
Harpers Ferry and Antietam, brother had fought against
brother. Sister had fought against sister. Blood and
bitterness had deepened the divide that separated North
from South, eroding the bonds of affection that once
united 34 States under a single flag. Slavery still
suspended the possibility of an America where life and
liberty were the birthright of all, not the province of
some.

Yet, even in those dark days, light persisted. Hope
endured. As the weariness of an old year gave way to
the promise of a new one, President Abraham Lincoln
issued the Emancipation Proclamation--courageously
declaring that on January 1, 1863, ``all persons held
as slaves'' in rebellious areas ``shall be then,
thenceforward, and forever free.'' He opened the Union
Army and Navy to African Americans, giving new strength
to liberty's cause. And with that document, President
Lincoln lent new moral force to the war by making it a
fight not just to preserve, but also to empower. He
sought to reunite our people not only in government,
but also in freedom that knew no bounds of color or
creed. Every battle became a battle for liberty itself.
Every struggle became a struggle for equality.

Our 16th President also understood that while each of
us is entitled to our individual rights and
responsibilities, there are certain things we cannot
accomplish on our own. Only a Union could serve the
hopes of every citizen, knocking down the barriers to
opportunity and giving each of us the chance to pursue
our highest aspirations. He knew that in these United
States, no dream could ever be beyond our reach when we
affirm that individual liberty is served, not negated,
by seeking the common good.

It is that spirit that made emancipation possible and
codified it in our Constitution. It is that belief in
what we can do together that moved millions to march
for justice in the years that followed. And today, it
is a legacy we choose not only to remember, but also to
make our own. Let us begin this new year by renewing
our bonds to one another and reinvesting in the work
that lies ahead, confident that we can keep driving
freedom's progress in our time.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim January 1, 2013, as
the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
I call upon all Americans to observe this day with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that
celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation and reaffirm
the timeless principles it upheld.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
seventh.