Emancipation Proclamation

Commemorative Coloring Book
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation 

Proclamation on January 1, 1863, announcing, 

"that all persons held as slaves. . . henceforward 

shall be free."

This book belongs to

 

I celebrated the 150th Anniversary of 

the Emancipation Proclamation at the 

National Archives, Washington, D.C.
The Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was an order issued by 

President Abraham Lincoln that began the process of freeing 

all the slaves in the United States. It was signed January 

1, 1863. The order freed all slaves held by the Confederate 

States that were not in control of Union forces. The Emancipation Proclamation, followed by the 13th Amendment to 

the Constitution, would eventually free four million enslaved 

Americans. 

The order also allowed freed slaves to join the U.S. military. By the end of the Civil War in 1865, 200,000 African 

American troops, most of whom were former slaves, served 

in the Union armed forces. These added troops, as well as 

the political effect of the Emancipation Proclamation, helped 

the Union win the Civil War.

As a milestone along the road to end slavery, with the 

post–Civil War struggles, and the modern legacy of civil 

rights, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place 

among the great documents of human freedom. 
The Emancipation Proclamation Story and Legacy

(Maria is writing) Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the 

United States, and his Cabinet members read over the 

Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed the freedom 

of slaves in the 10 states rebelling against the Union in the 

Civil War. Lincoln first presented the Emancipation Proclamation 

to his Cabinet on July 22, 1862, and issued the Preliminary 

Proclamation on September 22, 1862. The Emancipation 

Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863.
On December 31, 1862, many enslaved African Americans gathered in churches and 

prayed. Throughout the night, they waited for the moment when the Emancipation Proclamation would take 

effect. This special night became known as “Watch 

Night,” and continues to be celebrated today in many 

African American churches on New Year’s Eve.
By the light of a torch held by a young boy, 

a group of African Americans listened to the 

reading of the Emancipation Proclamation 

published in a newspaper. It is read by a 

soldier in the Union Army.
Frederick Douglass

(February 1818 – February 20, 

1895) was an American social 

reformer, orator, writer, and 

statesman. After escaping from 

slavery, he became a leader 

of the abolitionist movement, 

gaining fame for his dazzling 

oratory and clear and direct 

antislavery writing. Douglass 

was a firm believer in the 

equality of all people, whether 

black, female, Native American, or 

recent immigrant, and was 

famously quoted as saying, “I 

would unite with anybody 

to do right and with 

nobody to do wrong.” 
Harriet Tubman 

(1820–March 10, 1913) was an 

African American abolitionist, 

humanitarian, and Union spy during the Civil War. Born into slavery, Tubman was able to escape, 

and later made more than 13 

missions to rescue more 

than 70 slaves 

using the network of 

abolitionists (people 

against slavery) 

known as the 

“Underground Railroad.” She later 

joined the fight 

to win women the 

right to vote. 
Martin Luther King, Jr.

(January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) 

was an American minister, 

activist, and prominent 

leader in the Civil Rights 

Movement. At the 1963 

March on Washington, 

King delivered his 

famous “I Have a 

Dream” speech, and 

established his 

reputation as one 

of the greatest 

public speakers in 

American history. 
Rosa Parks

(February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) 

is often called “the mother of the 

modern civil rights movement.” 

On December 1, 1955, in 

Montgomery, Alabama, she 

was arrested when she 

refused to give up her seat 

on a bus to a white, male 

passenger. This act of 

bravery inspired the 

Montgomery Bus Boycott, led 

by Martin Luther King, Jr., 

and began a movement that 

ended legal segregation 

in America. 
Barack Obama

is the 44th President of the 

United States. He served in 

both the Illinois State 

Senate and the U.S. 

Senate before being 

elected President of the 

United States in 2008. 

He was re-elected in 

2012. He lives at the 

White House with his 

wife, First Lady Michelle 

Obama, and his daughters Malia, 14, and 

Sasha, 10. 
Proclamation

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What Freedom Means to Me

Draw a picture or write about what freedom means to you.
Resources

For more information about what you have seen at the National Archives, check 

out the following web sites:

The National Archives: www.archives.gov

DocsTeach: www.docsteach.org

Interactive online resource of learning activities featuring 

documents at the National Archives.

RECOMMENDED READINGS 

Cory, Shana. Barack Obama: Out of Many, One. Random House Publishers, 

New York, New York. 2009

Davidson, Margaret. Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom. Scholastic Publishing, 

New York, New York. 1989

Landau, Elaine. The Emancipation Proclamation: Would You Do What Lincoln Did?

Enslow Publishers, Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. 2010

McDonough, Yona Zeldis. Who Was Rosa Parks? Grosset and Dunlap Publishers, 

New York, New York. 2010

McMullan, Kate. The Story of Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad.

Dell Publishing, New York, New York. 1990

Ruffin, Frances. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington.

Penguin Publishers, New York, New York. 2000

Sherman, Pat. Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation.

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2009

CREDITS

Page 2: First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln to his Cabinet, United States Senate

Page 3: Waiting for the hour [Emancipation] December 31, 1862, Prints and Photography Division, Library of Congress

Page 4: Reading the Emancipation Proclamation, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Page 5: Portrait of Frederick Douglass, Collections of the New-York Historical Society

Page 6: Portrait of Harriet Tubman, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University

Page 7: Portrait of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Harmon Foundation Collection, National Archives

Page 8: Rosa Parks, National Archives

Page 9: President Barack Obama, The White House

Produced by the Education and Public Programs Division, National Archives
The 150th anniversary celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation is 

presented in part by the Verizon Foundation.