On the 22nd of September, 1862, a gleam of light had shone, the President had issued “his preliminary proclamation of emancipation; and now on January 1st, 1863 came the announcement of full liberty to the captives.
Extract from the Proclamation.
“I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power vested in me as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, . . . and as a necessary war-measure, . . . do order and declare that all persons held as slaves (within the states in rebellion) are, and henceforward shall be free.”
The passage by Congress of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution followed, extending emancipation to all parts of the United States and its territories.
Abby Howland Woolsey writes, Jan., ’63:
I improved yesterday to my satisfaction in reading the President’s proclamation. “The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice!”