A HOUSE RESOLUTION recognizing the SIGNIFICANCE of the preliminary emancipation proclamation.
Whereas, on September 22, 1862, following the Union victory at Antietam (Battle of Sharpsburg), President Abraham Lincoln signed the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation; and
Whereas, this document stated in part that "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"; and
Whereas, by issuing the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, President Lincoln formally alerted the Confederacy of his intention to free all persons held as slaves within those states if they did not rejoin the Union within 100 days; and
Whereas, on January 1, 1863, in the midst of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, which paved the way for the adoption of the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in the United States; and
Whereas, the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is considered one of the most significant documents in the history of the United States; and
Whereas, this historical seven‑page document, on loan from the National Archives, will be on display at the North Carolina Museum of History from May 15, 2013, through June 16, 2013, giving the people of this State the opportunity to view a document that is rarely on display; and
Whereas, the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is part of the exhibit "Freedom Coming, Freedom for All," which follows a time line of events focusing on the status of North Carolina before the Civil War, events leading up to Lincoln's issuance of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, and outcomes and results of the document in the State and nation, as well as the differences between the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, the final Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th Amendment; and
Whereas, the content and historical significance of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation should be embraced by all North Carolinians; Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
SECTION 1.  The House of Representatives encourages the people of this State to visit the North Carolina Museum of History to view the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
SECTION 2.  The House of Representatives honors President Abraham Lincoln, the nation's 16th president, for his resolute and undaunted actions, including the issuance of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, during one of the most significant periods in the history of our nation.
SECTION 3.  This resolution is effective upon adoption.