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Today's Anniversary: September 22, 1862 - Emancipation Proclamation
September 22, 1862, President Lincoln issued this first printing of the preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation in general orders format, as an order from the Commander-in-Chief to the armed forces.
Because he had direct control over the Army, the President thus made it unnecessary to go through Congress to activate the Proclamation.
The preliminary version differs from the final version of January 1, 1863, in placing a greater emphasis on the preservation of the Union as a motivating force for the Proclamation.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
