This hardcover publication contains the draft, preliminary, and final versions of Abraham Lincoln's January 1, 1863 Executive Order—the Emancipation Proclamation.

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, formally proclaiming the freedom of all slaves held in areas still in revolt. The Proclamation invited black men to join the Union Army and Navy, resulting in the enlistment of approximately 200,000 freed slaves and free black people before the war's end.