The Emancipation Proclamation
"On the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free" - Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation |
The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order decreeing not only the existence of, but the perseverance of the American Dream. In Lincoln's address, he put into words what many of his people had been struggling against for decades. This order opened the door to 800,000 more Dreamers, and allowed millions more to regrow their confidence in their nation and its opportunities.
Source: Lincoln, Abraham. "Emancipation Proclamation." 1 Jan. 1863. Civil War Daily Gazette, civilwardailygazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/
sept23proc.jpg. Accessed 6 Jan. 2017. Address.
sept23proc.jpg. Accessed 6 Jan. 2017. Address.