President Abraham Lincoln signs Emancipation Proclamation 160 years ago Sunday

WASHINGTON. (WLUC) - New Year’s Day, 2023, marks 160 years since President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

After Union victory at the Battle of Antietam against the Confederacy during the American Civil War, President Lincoln issued an executive order that would change the course of the war. The Emancipation Proclamation declared any enslaved person in Confederate states would be set free.

160 years later, the United States celebrates the emancipation of the slaves on June 19, the anniversary of Texas outlawing slavery in 1865. According to the Detroit Historical Society, it is estimated that 90,000 Michigan soldiers fought in the Civil War, including more than 1,600 black soldiers. Joining them was 1,209 soldiers from the U.P.