"WIPED OUT 60% OF SOUTHERN CAPITAL"

PRESIDENT LINCOLN SIGNS FINAL EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the final Emancipation Proclamation* at the White House.

Charles Hubbard of the Abraham Lincoln Institute for the Study of Leadership and Public Policy reminds us that the Emancipation did not free any slaves where the Federal Union was NOT in military control.

Hubbard does say, however, that...

"With the stroke of a pen, Lincoln wiped out sixty percent of southern capital (slave property)."

JFK+50 NOTE

On January 1, 1863, the Confederate states still in rebellion, & thus not in the military control of the Union, included Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas & Virginia.  

The Emancipation Proclamation "left slavery untouched" in the border states (slave states which had not left the Union) of Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, & Missouri.

*Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation following the Battle of Antietam on September 22, 1862.  The President signed the final Emancipation Proclamation (Executive Order) on January 1, 1863.  It allowed African American men to enlist & fight in the Union Army.  

SOURCES

"Emancipation Proclamation Issued 150 Years Ago Today," JFK+50, January 1, 2013, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/

"The Emancipation," Equal Justice Initiative, www.eji.org/

"The Emancipation Proclamation:  Striking a Mighty Blow to Slavery," National Museum of African American History and Culture, www.nmaahc.si.edu/

 

 

Emancipation Proclamation

Carpenter's Great National Picture

Library of Congress

www.picryl.com

"NO SINGLE DEED HAS DONE MORE THAN LINCOLN'S"

RFK SPEAKS AT EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION DISPLAY DEDICATION

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On January 4, 1963, Robert F. Kennedy paid tribute to President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation*.  

The Attorney General spoke at the dedication of a display of the original copy of the document at the National Archives Building here in the Nation's Capital.

The Attorney General said...

"In the long course of American commitment to freedom and dignity of the individual, no single deed has done more than Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation."

*The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by A.L. on September 22, 1862 to take effect on January 1, 1863.  The document declares "all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be, free."  According to the National Archives, the E.P. "fundamentally transformed the character of the (Civil) war."

SOURCES

"Remarks by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy at Opening of Exhibit on the Emancipation Proclamation at the National Archives," Washington, D.C., January 4, 1963, Department of Justice.

"The Emancipation Proclamation," National Archives, www.archives.gov/

www.justice.gov/ 

 

 

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy

National Archives

Washington, D.C.

January 4 1963

Justice Department Photo 

OUR NATION'S POLICY ROUNDED ON JUSTICE & MORALITY

JFK PROCLAIMS YEAR LONG CELEBRATION OF EMANCIPATION

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) January 1, 1963 marked the 100th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the final Emancipation Proclamation at the White House here in the Nation's Capital.

The Emancipation proclaimed...

"That on the 1st day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred & sixty three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, & forever free."

President John F. Kennedy's Proclamation 3511 dated December 28, 1962 stated...

"I, John F. Kennedy, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the Emancipation Proclamation our Nation's policy, rounded on justice and morality, and that it is fitting and proper to commemorate the centennial of the historic Emancipation Proclamation throughout the year 1963."

SOURCE

"John F. Kennedy issues Proclamation 3511--Emancipation Proclamation Centennial," December 28, 1962, The American Presidency Project, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/

Emancipation Proclamation

Engraving by W. Roberts (1864)

WHY IS THE LINCOLN BEDROOM SO PEACEFUL?

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2188

REFLECTIONS ON "JACKIE": PART XIII

Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) JFK+50 begins the year 2017 with a review of "Jackie" starring Natalie Portman.  "Jackie" is a Fox Searchlight Pictures film directed by Pablo Larrain.

The screenplay was written by Noah Oppenheim.  Released on December 2, 2016, the movie has an "R" rating and lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes.

We move on to a scene in the Lincoln Bedroom* at the White House with Jackie sitting at the edge of Lincoln's mahogany bed staring up at the portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln that hangs above it.

Jackie asks Bobby...

"Do you think Lincoln's widow knew...that we'd build a monument (Lincoln Memorial) to her husband?"

Bobby does not answer.

Jackie continues...

"Why is this room so peaceful?"

Bobby replies...

"Every time I walk by this room I'm reminded that on January 1, 1863 an ordinary man signed a document that freed 4 million people from slavery.  So I don't think of it as much as peaceful as a place of profound legacy."**

and Bobby continues...

"And its too bad that ours is totally...wasted.  We could have done so much...."

*The Lincoln Bedroom was actually President Lincoln's office from 1861-1865.  After his death it became a guest room.  The bed, actually owned by Lincoln, is 8 x 6 feet and has an "enormous headboard."  According to The White House Museum, the bed "was probably never used by President Lincoln."

**According to Eyewitness to History there was no ceremony with the official signing.  It was accomplished with "less than a dozen persons" in attendance. After the signing, the document was dispatched to the Department of State. The President wrote the final draft in his own hand.

SOURCES

"Abraham Lincoln, a History, vol. 6" by John Hay and John G. Nicolay, 1890.

"Jackie-Screenplay," by Script Pipeline, www.scriptpipeline.com/jackie-screenplay

"Lincoln Bedroom," The White House Museum, www.whitehousemuseum.org/

"President Lincoln Signs the Emancipation Proclamation, 1863," Eyewitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/

Lincoln Bedroom

The White House (1963)

JFK Library Photo

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION ISSUED 150 YEARS AGO TODAY!

January 1, 2013

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION ISSUED 150 YEARS AGO TODAY!

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) One hundred & fifty years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln signed the final Emancipation Proclamation at the White House.

The Emancipation proclaimed...

"That on the 1st day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred & sixty three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, & forever free."

          Emancipation Proclamation
       Engraving by W. Roberts (1864)

According to the recent article by Fred Brown in the Knoxville News-Sentinel , titled 'East Tennessee in the Civil War: January 1, 1863', the Emancipation Proclamation actually freed only about 40,000 out of 4 million slaves.

The reason, as stated in the article by Charles Hubbard, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Institute for the Study of Leadership & Public Policy, was that the Emancipation did not free any slaves where the federal union was not in military control.

Thus, the EP excluded the Union slave states of Maryland, Delaware, Missouri & Kentucky and also Tennessee because it was under US military control.

Hubbard says that the EP was a 'military necessity' for President Lincoln as a tool to deprive the South of the support of its slaves to keep a viable army.

According to Fred Brown's article, Lincoln wrote several drafts of the EP at the Soldier's Home & was advised to wait for a Union victory before issuing it.

On September 22, 1862, after the Battle of Antietam with Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in retreat, President Lincoln issued his Preliminary Emancipation.

Charles Hubbard says:

"With a stroke of a pen, Lincoln wiped out 60% of Southern capital (slave property)."

It is surprising to learn that Lincoln signed 48 copies of Emancipation documents.  Many were sent to state governors while others were sold to raise money to care for wounded soldiers.

ORIGINAL EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION TO BE DISPLAYED IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Nashville, Tennessee (JFK+50) A traveling National Archives exhibit including the original Emancipation Proclamation will be on display next month at the Tennessee State Museum here in Nashville.

The EP, included in an exhibit titled "Discovering the Civil War," will be exhibited February 12-18, 2013.

There is no fee for those who wish to stand in line to see the exhibit.  A $1 fee is charged for a timed reservation.  About 300 people will be able to view the exhibit every hour.

The hours for viewing will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 12-15, & 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 16-18.

SOURCE:

Knoxville News Sentinel, article by Fred Brown, Dec. 30, 2012.

              President Obama Displays
        The Emancipation Proclamation
                      The Oval Office
                   January 18, 2010
               Photo by Pete Souza

JFK'S PEACE CORPS IS HERE TO STAY

September 22, 1961


JFK'S PEACE CORPS IS HERE TO STAY


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy signed legislation today which gives the Peace Corps permanent status.


JFK's signature also authorizes $40 million for the agency's 1st year of operation.


Of the 1st Peace Corps volunteers, JFK said:


"They will be farmers, teachers, craftsmen, nurses, doctors & technicians of all kinds.  They will be a cross-section of the finest men & women that this nation has to offer."

September 22, 1961


ICC ORDERS END TO SEGREGATION IN INTERSTATE TRAVEL


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The Interstate Commerce Commission today ordered an end to segregation in interstate bus travel.

                Greyhound Bus Terminal
               Jackson, Tennessee (2011)
                   Photo by John White


The ICC order says that beginning on November 1, 1961, segregation on interstate buses & at interstate bus terminals will be prohibited.


The order follows the decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 5, 1960 in Boynton v. Virginia that segregation at bus terminal waiting rooms & restaurants is unconstitutional.


On July 19, 1961, JFK said:


"In my judgment, there's no question of the legal rights of the...Freedom Riders*, to move in interstate commerce." 


*Freedom Riders were civil rights activists,black & white, male & female, who came from the North to the South to test the Supreme Court ruling.

               Greyhound Bus Station
                        Waiting Room
            Jackson, Tennessee (2011)
                Photo by John White


September 22, 1962


GROMYKO SAYS US INTERVENTION IN CUBA WILL CAUSE A NUCLEAR WAR


New York City (JFK+50) Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko of the Soviet Union warned the United Nations General Assembly today that American intervention in Cuba will cause a nuclear war.*


*There is no doubt that Soviet placement of nuclear weapons systems just 90 miles from Key West, Florida did, in fact, almost cause a nuclear war. 


 Come back to JFK+50 in October for the account of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

     Soviet Minister Andrei Gromyko
              USSR Postage Stamp


September 22, 1975


PRESIDENT FORD ESCAPES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT....AGAIN


San Francisco, California (JFK+50) After having avoided an assassination attempt in Sacramento just 17 days ago, President Gerald R. Ford avoided another one today here in San Francisco.


As the President was leaving the St. Francis Hotel & about to enter his car, a woman identified as Sarah Jane Moore fired a shot at him.


Fortunately, Oliver Sipple, standing near her, grabbed her arm as she fired & the shot missed.


Secret Service agents reacted quickly & spirited the President into his car & out of harm's way.

               Attempted Assassination
                      of President Ford
               San Francisco, California
          Gerald R. Ford Library Photo


September 22, 1980


IRAQ INVADES IRAN


Baghdad, Iraq (JFK+50) Military forces of Iraq by command of President Saddam Hussein launched an invasion today of Iran's oil producing province of Khuzestan.*


*In 1982, Iraq withdrew from Iran & sought peace.  In 1988, Iran agreed to a cease fire.

               Saddam Hussein of Iraq


September 22, 1862


LINCOLN ISSUES PRELIMINARY EMANCIPATION


Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President Abraham Lincoln today issued an executive order which declares "that all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward, shall be free."


The 'Emancipation" applies only to states that have seceeded from the Union as well as parts of the Confederacy that has come under the control of the Union army.


The proclamation is to take effect as of January 1, 1863.


Former slave Frederick Douglass described the moment when the words of the Emancipation came over the telegraph wires:


"The scene was wild & grand. Joy & gladness exhausted all forms of expression, from shouts of praise to joy & tears."*


*The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation provided that if the South did not end the war & rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in the Confederacy would be free.  The 2nd Executive Order specified the states to which the order applied.

           President Obama Displays a Copy
         of the Emancipation Proclamation*
                          in the Oval Office
                          January 18, 2010
                      Photo by Pete Souza


*The copy was on loan from the Smithsonian Institution.


September 22, 1776


PATRIOT NATHAN HALE MAKES ULTIMATE SACRIFICE


New York City (JFK+50) 21 year old Nathan Hale, a school teacher by day & a spy for General George Washington at night, was executed here today after being captured by the British military.


Hale, a graduate of Yale University, was charged with espionage but was not given the benefit of a trial.


He was asked, however, before his execution if he had any final words:


Nathan Hale said:


"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.*


*In 1985, Nathan Hale was officially designated as the "State Hero" of Connecticut.

                       Nathan Hale Statue
                         Fort Nathan Hale
                 New Haven, Connecticut
                 Photo by 2112guy (2007)