Reading the Emancipation Proclamation, print from a steel engraving by James W. Watts after Henry Walker Herrick, 1863.
On 1 January 1863, in the midst of the American Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, declaring all persons held in bondage in the secessionist states to be free. Here, an enslaved African American family listens as a Union soldier reads the order.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Related Images
First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation
Proclamation of Emancipation
Map of the American Civil War, 1861-1865
Abraham Lincoln Assassination 1865
Sojourner Truth and Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln, June 1860
Cite This Work
APA Style
Watts, J. W. (2026, September 22). Reading the Emancipation Proclamation. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/22187/reading-the-emancipation-proclamation/
Chicago Style
Watts, James W.. "Reading the Emancipation Proclamation." World History Encyclopedia, September 22, 2026. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/22187/reading-the-emancipation-proclamation/.
MLA Style
Watts, James W.. "Reading the Emancipation Proclamation." World History Encyclopedia, 22 Sep 2026, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/22187/reading-the-emancipation-proclamation/.
