Emancipation Proclamation

On January 1, 1863, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Issued as an executive order based on his powers as commander-in-chief, the proclamation technically did not end slavery. Rather, it declared that all slaves in rebellious states were free. This was a major blow to the Confederacy and transformed the Civil War into a conflict to end the institution of slavery.

This copy of the Emancipation Proclamation is one of 26 known copies of the Leland-Boker edition. This “authorized edition” was created for sale at the Great Sanitary Fair of Philadelphia in June 1864 as a fundraiser to help sick and wounded Union soldiers. It was the idea of two Union League members, Charles Godfrey Leland and George Boker. A total of 48 copies were printed and signed by Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of State William H. Seward, and the President’s private secretary John G. Nicolay. Each document sold for $10, the equivalent of $150 today.

This is the second copy of the Emancipation Proclamation that the Union League has owned. The first burned in a fire in 1866. This copy was donated to the Union League in 1921 by Union League past President John Gribbel and Edwin F. Keen.