Emancipation Proclamation Signed, Issued 150 Years Ago Today
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It's a document that changed America, ended slavery and gave African-Americans hope for equality.
One hundred and 50 years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln issued "The Emancipation Proclamation."
President Barack Obama hung an early copy with Lincoln's signature in the Oval Office.
Today, the original is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The ink is faded and it's hard to read, but the proclamation makes clear no American can own another.
On Jan. 1, 1863, in the middle of civil war, Lincoln declared the slaves in the South "forever free."
Many joined the Union Army and helped the North defeat the Southern Confederacy in 1865.
Tuesday, May 21 2013 11:13 PM EDT2013-05-22 03:13:58 GMT
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