Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2013 / Presidential Documents 855 

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. 


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856 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2013 / Presidential Documents 

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 thirtyseventh. 

[FR Doc. 2013–00132 

Filed 1–4–13; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3295–F3 


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