RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, January 1. 2013 will mark the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation; and
WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached the third year of its bloody civil war, President Lincoln declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free"; and
WHEREAS, the proclamation stated that "the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons"; and
WHEREAS, 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 Civil War; and
WHEREAS, after the proclamation, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom; and
WHEREAS, the proclamation also announced the acceptance of African-American men into Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators: and
WHEREAS, by the close of the war, nearly 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom; and
WHEREAS, the original of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 is in the National Archives in Washington, DC; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the corporate authorities of the City of Chicago do hereby recognize the historical significance of the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation; and
equality for all people of America.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor, and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this twelfth day of December, 2012, encourage the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in accordance with the spirit, strength, and legacy of freedom, justice, and