Good morning, Whitewater.
Our new year begins with a mixture of clouds and sunshine, and a high of thirty-one. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:32 PM, for 9h 06m 32s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 86.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
Emancipation Proclamation, Page One. Via National Archives and Records Administration.
On this day in 1863, having announced earlier his intention to do so, Pres. Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation:
Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.
From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone along the road to slavery’s final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom.
The original of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, is in the National Archives in Washington, DC. With the text covering five pages the document was originally tied with narrow red and blue ribbons, which were attached to the signature page by a wafered impression of the seal of the United States. Most of the ribbon remains; parts of the seal are still decipherable, but other parts have worn off.
The document was bound with other proclamations in a large volume preserved for many years by the Department of State. When it was prepared for binding, it was reinforced with strips along the center folds and then mounted on a still larger sheet of heavy paper. Written in red ink on the upper right-hand corner of this large sheet is the number of the Proclamation, 95, given to it by the Department of State long after it was signed. With other records, the volume containing the Emancipation Proclamation was transferred in 1936 from the Department of State to the National Archives of the United States.
Here’s some inspiration for the new year, from a competition last year — in a world competition, Michael van Gerwen throws 17 consecutive perfect darts:
Van Gerwen’s accomplishment is well beyond well-played.
Google-a-Day asks a question on military history:
What battle halted the German invasion of Russia?