'Forever free': Watch Nights to mark 150th anniversary of Lincoln's revolutionary Emancipation Proclamation with readings, songs, and bell ringing
As New Year's Day approached 150 years ago, all eyes were on President Abraham Lincoln in expectation of what he warned 100 days earlier would be coming - his final proclamation declaring all slaves in states rebelling against the Union to be 'forever free.'
A tradition began December 31, 1862, as many black churches held Watch Night services, awaiting word that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation would take effect amid a bloody Civil War. Later, congregations listened as the president's historic words were read aloud.
The proclamation would not end slavery outright and at the time couldn't be enforced by Lincoln in areas under Confederate control. But the president made clear from that day forward that his forces would be fighting to bring the Union back together without the institution of slavery.
Piece of history: Visitors look at a display of President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation at the National Archives in Washington (file photo)
Rough draft: The first draft of President Lincoln's proclamation that Lincoln presented to his full cabinet on July 22, 1862, displayed at the Library of Congress in Washington
Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862, after the Battle of Antietam, announcing that if rebel states did not cease fighting and rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in rebellious states or parts of states would be declared free from that date forward.
This year, the Watch Night tradition will follow the historic document to its home at the National Archives with a special midnight display planned with readings, songs and bell ringing among the nation's founding documents.
The official document bears Lincoln's signature and the United States seal, setting it apart from copies and drafts. It will make a rare public appearance from Sunday to Tuesday - New Year's Day - for thousands of visitors to mark its anniversary. On New Year's Eve, the display will remain open past midnight as 2013 arrives.
'We will be calling back to an old tradition,' said U.S. Archivist David Ferriero, noting the proclamation's legacy. 'When you see thousands of people waiting in line in the dark and cold ... we know that they're not there just for words on paper.
Anxious: All eyes were on President Lincoln in expectation of what he warned 100 days earlier would be coming... his final proclamation declaring all slaves in states rebelling against the Union to be 'forever free'
Declared: On January 1, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War, under his authority as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy
The Great Emancipator: Abraham Lincoln pictured in an etching, left, and reading the Bible with former slave and abolitionist Sojourner Truth, in a print presented to the President by the black community of Baltimore to commemorate the Emancipation, right
'On this 150th anniversary, we recall those who struggled with slavery in this country, the hope that sustained them and the inspiration the Emancipation Proclamation has given to those who seek justice.'
The National Archives allows 100 visitors at a time into its rotunda, where the Emancipation Proclamation will be displayed along with the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. On the busiest days, 8,000 people file through for a glimpse of the founding charters.
Performances and re-enactments are scheduled to continue throughout New Year's Day. The U.S. Postal Service will unveil a new Emancipation Proclamation stamp as well.
This special display is just one of many commemorations planned in Washington and in churches nationwide to mark the anniversary of Lincoln's actions to end slavery and end the Civil War.
President Lincoln's Cottage in Washington, where the 16th president spent much of his time and where he began drafting the proclamation, is displaying a signed copy of the document through February. It also will host its own New Year's Eve celebration.
Statement: President Lincoln in 1862 reading the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all slaves in rebel-held territory would be 'thenceforward, and forever, free
In the works: An illustration of Lincoln as he sits on a bench and writes a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, 1860s
The Library of Congress will display the first draft handwritten by Lincoln. It will be on display for six weeks beginning January 3 in the library's exhibit, 'The Civil War in America,' which features many personal letters and diaries from the era.
Also, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture just opened its newest exhibition, 'Changing America,' to recount the 1863 emancipation of slaves and the 1963 March on Washington for Civil Rights.
It includes a rare signed copy of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that ultimately abolished slavery.
The Watch Night tradition also continues at many sites Monday night.
In Washington, the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church, where abolitionist Frederick Douglass was a member, will host a special 150th anniversary service.
History lovers say this is a chance to remember what the Emancipation Proclamation actually signified.
Lincoln wrote in part: 'I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward, shall be free.'
He went on to say the military would recognize the freedom of slaves, that freed slaves should avoid violence and that freed slaves could enlist in the U.S. armed forces.
It did not immediately free a single slave, though, because Lincoln didn't have the power to enforce the declaration in the Confederacy. Still, many slaves had already been freeing themselves, and the document gave them protection, said Reginald Washington, an archivist of African-American history at the National Archives.
'It was a first, important step in paving the way for the abolishment of slavery with the ratification of the 13th Amendment,' he said.
Where to go from here: Newly-freed homeless & penniless slaves milling around camp outside tents provided by Union Army
Refuge: Freed uprouted slaves in wagon seeking refuge behind Union Army lines
It also brought 'a fundamental change in the character of the war,' Washington said. 'With the stroke of Lincoln's pen, a war to preserve the union had overnight become a war of human liberation.'
The proclamation became a symbol of hope for nearly 4 million slaves and a confirmation that the war should be fought to secure their freedom, said Washington, who is retiring from the Archives after nearly 40 years. Some historians and scholars have come to view to proclamation as one of the most important documents in U.S. history.
The final proclamation has been rarely shown because it was badly damaged decades ago by long exposure to light. After it was signed at the White House, it was kept at the State Department for many years with other presidential proclamations. In 1936, it was transferred to the National Archives.
Records show it was displayed between 1947 and 1949 in a 'Freedom Train' exhibit that traveled the country. Then it was shown briefly in January 1963 to mark the 100th anniversary of its signing.
Freed: An African American smiling while reading the Emancipation Proclamation in glass case on Freedom Train in the 1940s
It wasn't until 1993 that the Emancipation Proclamation has been shown more regularly to the public. In the past decade, it has been shown in 10 other museums and libraries nationwide for no more than three days at a time to limit its exposure to light.
A 2011 exhibition at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, that was open around the clock drew lines amounting to eight-hour waits to see the document.
Conservators rotate which of the five pages are shown to limit their light exposure.
In Washington, they will display pages two and five, which is Lincoln's signature page. High-quality copies are shown in place of the other original pages.
'It's rarely shown, and that's part of our strategy for preserving it and making it accessible,' said Catherine Nicholson, an archives conservator.
'Our goal is to keep its current condition so that it can be enjoyed not only by people today, but by future generations.'
'I DECLARE ALL PERSONS HELD AS SLAVES ARE AND HENCEFORTH SHALL BE FREE': FULL TEXT OF EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
The Emancipation Proclamation
January 1, 1863
By the President of the United States of America:
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
'That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
'That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.'
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.
By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.