Two months before the war ended—in February 1865—Lincoln told portrait painter Francis B. Carpenter that the Emancipation Proclamation was “the central act of my administration, and the greatest event of the nineteenth century.” To Lincoln and to his compatriots, it had become evident that th...
Juneteenth marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two and a half years earlier, as depicted in this illustration. The Juneteenth holiday hono...
Last Updated: Dec 11, 2024 • Article History Quick Facts Byname: Honest Abe, the Rail-Splitter, or the Great Emancipator Born: February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S. Died: April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C. (aged 56) Title / Office: presidency of the United States...