One of the greatest legal documents in America's history, Lincoln's original Proclamation did not survive. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of Chicago (1871). Fortunately the original document is maintained in the National Archives.

Each page of the Proclamation echoes Lincoln's desire for America to be forever rid of what he called this "peculiar institution." As Lincoln signed his name, his intent was for slaves to endure no further oppression. Would the future had happened that way!