ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1809-1865)

A Proclamation, known as the "Emancipation Proclamation." [Philadelphia: Frederick Leypoldt, ca. June 6,1864]. Broadside.

On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln granted freedom to all slaves in states then in rebellion, with the exception of Tennessee, southern Louisiana, and parts of Virginia. As stated in the body of the text, the proclamation was a war measure based on the president's prerogatives as commander- in-chief in times of armed rebellion. Despite its intent as a war tactic and the exclusion of various states and parts of states, the president's proclamation nevertheless stands as a milestone in the ending of all slavery in the United States and as an expression of the freedom embodied in the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Although personally opposed to the institution of slavery, Lincoln had resisted any direct action against it for fear of encouraging the border states to secede, his first priority in the conflict being the maintenance of the Union rather than the abolition of slavery. By the summer of 1862, however, the president could no longer ignore emancipation as a tactical maneuver against rebellion, and decided to act. Lincoln wrote the first draft of the preliminary proclamation in June 1862, but did not publish it until after the pivotal Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862). This document, known as the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, was issued to the public on September nnouncing the intention to free slaves within the period of 100 days.

During the evening of December 31, 1862, President Lincoln began the final draft of the Proclamation and completed it on the morning of January 1, 1863, signing it later that evening. Lincoln was later to remark that this signing was the central act of his administration and the greatest event of the nineteenth century.

There were nine of official editions of the Proclamation printed, all in January of 1863. Numerous unofficial editions were printed afterward. The copy exhibited is the autographed edition of the much discussed Leland-Boker project. Two editions, which differ significantly from each other typographically, were printed in Philadelphia for George H. Boker and Charles Godfrey Leland by the printing firm of Frederick Leypoldt on or about May 20 for the first edition and June 6, 1864, for the second (autographed) edition. Twenty-four copies of the first edition and forty-eight of the second edition were printed.

The edition exhibited is signed by President Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward, and is attested to by the signature of Jno. G. Nicolay, "Priv. Sec. to the President." This was one of the forty-eight copies printed for Leland and Boker for sale as fundraisers at the Great Central Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia, June 7-29, 1864, with remaining copies either presented to libraries or sold at another benefit in Boston later in the year. This copy was printed on fine Whatman paper and bears the watermark "J Whatman 1861" on the lower lefthand side. Only about a score are known to exist today.

Gift of the Wilmington Institute Free Library