LINCOLN'S FAMED PROCLAMATION LANDS AT CITY'S CENTRAL LIBRARY.Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer When Abraham Lincoln's signature on a five-page document declared freedom for slaves in the South on Jan. 1, 1863, there was singing, dancing and weeping on streets and in churches. On Friday, Angelenos were able to view the Emancipation Proclamation Emancipation Proclamation, in U.S. history, the executive order abolishing slavery in the Confederate States of America. Desire for Such a Proclamation themselves at the Central Library. The unveiling of the brittle, yellowed document prompted reverent rev·er·ent adj. Marked by, feeling, or expressing reverence. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin rever applause and a quiet awe among city officials, students and other guests. The proclamation is on display only through Monday because its already faint ink fades with prolonged exposure to light. It is one of 25 documents on tour from the National Archives National Archives, official depository for records of the U.S. federal government, established in 1934 by an act of Congress. Although displeasure concerning the method of keeping national records was voiced in Congress as early as 1810, the United States continued while its Washington headquarters are being renovated. The Emancipation Proclamation declared that slaves held in the Confederate states ``shall be then, thenceforward thence·for·ward also thence·for·wards adv. 1. Thenceforth. 2. From that time or place onward. and forever free'' and allowed to serve in the Union Army and Navy. Although it did not have the legal powers of the 13th Amendment, which followed it, it is revered for Lincoln's language and for its immediate impact on the lives of African-Americans and the course of the Civil War. ``This represents my family,'' said former City Council member Rita Walters, who now is a library commissioner. ``My family were slaves, and that was just 140 years ago.'' Walter B. Hill Jr., senior archivist ARCHIVIST. One to whose care the archives have been confided. at the National Archives, attended the unveiling. He said the Emancipation Proclamation directly connected slavery with the war, which had been rooted in states' rights states' rights, in U.S. history, doctrine based on the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. issues. ``A moral imperative was brought to the war'' with its signing, Hill said. ``It's one thing to see the words on a bronze statue,'' Mayor James Hahn said. ``It's another thing to see it in a book. But to actually see Lincoln's own handwriting is extremely powerful and moving. I believe this document is proof that one person can change the world for the better.'' Los Angeles is one of eight cities to host the ``American Originals: Treasures of the National Archive'' tour, which closes here on Jan. 5. The display includes the Louisiana Purchase Louisiana Purchase, 1803, American acquisition from France of the formerly Spanish region of Louisiana. Reasons for the Purchase The revelation in 1801 of the secret agreement of 1800, whereby Spain retroceded Louisiana to France, aroused Treaty, Germany's World War II surrender, handwritten hand·write tr.v. hand·wrote , hand·writ·ten , hand·writ·ing, hand·writes To write by hand. [Back-formation from handwritten.] Adj. 1. pages from President John Kennedy's inaugural address and other seldom seen documents. Admission is free. Tickets for appointed entry times through Monday are available at the Central Library Information Desk for same-day visits. Valerie Kuklenski, (818) 713-3750 valerie.kuklenski(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Don Ancell, playing President Lincoln, listens while Walter B. Hill Jr. of the National Archives, center, talks to Mayor Hahn and other library visitors on Friday about the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the end of slavery in 1863. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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