[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 4 (Monday, January 7, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 855-856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00132]




                        Presidential Documents 



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

[[Page 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.

[[Page 856]]

                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.
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                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2013-00132
Filed 1-4-13; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F3