President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863! It feels like a long time ago yet not that long at all. I mean, just 163 years ago, Black people were still enslaved in this country!

newspaper article about the emancipation proclamation

Back to 1863. It’s going into year three of the Civil War. This is an important event in my upcoming middle-grade book, The Four Seasons of Florence Wallace. In a few months, the mandatory draft would be implemented. But this year, 163 years ago, Black people and their allies celebrated. Freedom was on the horizon.

Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipator

You may read a transcript of the proclamation here.