The following press release is from the National Archives website:
Special display of the original Emancipation Proclamation February 15–17
Special display of 12 Years a Slave Manifest February 21–March 30
Washington, DC… The National Archives continues its celebration of Black History Month with two featured document displays: the original Emancipation Proclamation, February 15-17; 12 Years a Slave: The Kidnapping Record of Solomon Northup, February 21-March 30; related programs, and a new Civil Rights-themed exhibit. All are free and open to the public.
The National Archives Building in Washington, DC, is located on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW. The building is open 10 AM —5:30 PM daily, and is fully accessible. Metro: Yellow or Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial station.
Featured Document Display: Original Emancipation Proclamation
February 15–17, 2014, David M. Rubenstein “Records of Rights” permanent exhibit
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, formally proclaiming the freedom of all slaves held in areas still in revolt. The issuance of this Proclamation clarified and strengthened the position of the Union government, decreased the likelihood of European support of the Confederacy and, as the Union armies extended their occupation of the southern states, brought freedom to the slaves in those states. 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. The Emancipation Proclamation is displayed only for a limited time because of its fragility, which can be made worse by exposure to light, and the need to preserve it for future generations.Related Emancipation Proclamation Family Days February 15 and 17
National Archives Boeing Learning Center, 10 AM–3 PM
Free, interactive Emancipation Proclamation Family Days will take place in the Boeing Learning Center on Saturday, February 15, and Monday, February 17. Free Emancipation Proclamation coloring books will be given out while supplies last.Featured Document Display: 12 Years a Slave: The Kidnapping Record of Solomon Northup
February 21 – March 30, 2014, Rotunda Gallery
From the birth of the American republic to the abolition of slavery, kidnapping for sale into slavery was a constant threat to free black people in the United States. In 1841, Solomon Northup, a free-born African American from New York, was kidnapped by two white men and enslaved for 12 years in the deep South before he could prove his legal right to freedom. However, his liberation from bondage was exceptional–most enslaved free blacks never regained their freedom.Kidnappers gave their victims aliases to hide their true identities. In his personal narrative, 12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northup recounts that he first heard the name he would be known by as a slave, “Plat Hamilton,” in New Orleans when it was called from this slave manifest of the brig Orleans, April 27, 1841.
