(14) 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, Declared “that all persons held as slaves” Within the Rebellious States “are, and henceforward shall be free.” (c. PRINCETON LIBRARY)

On January 1st, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in the closing years of the Civil War. The proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” With the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln freed all of the African American slaves in the United States, and allowed them to live their life freely. It was the culminating act of years of papers and arguments from black abolitionists. This was a monumental event for African Americans everywhere, including New Jersey.