Some of the more famous words in our nation’s history will once again be heard, 150 years later to the day.  The 150^th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation is September 22.  This historic document, freeing slaves in the Confederate states, changed the goals of the Civil War and profoundly impacted American history.  To commemorate this important event, organizations throughout Ohio will be holding public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation this week.

As of September 20, organizations holding public readings are:

• 149^th Annual Emancipation Day Celebration – Saturday, September 22 and Sunday, September 23, 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. both days, Gallia County Fairgrounds, Gallipolis, OH
• Friends of the Lathrop House – Saturday, September 22, 3 p.m., The Lathrop House, Harroun Park, Sylvania, OH
• Heritage Village Museum – Saturday, September 22, 12 p.m. and Sunday, September 23, 1 p.m., Heritage Village Museum, Sharonville, OH
• Jackson County Civil War 150 Committee – Saturday, September 22, evening, Jackson County Apple Festival, Jackson, OH
• Lincoln Society of Dayton – Monday, September 24, 7 p.m., University of Dayton – Joseph Keller Hall, Dayton, OH
• Major General William T. Sherman Camp 93, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War – Sunday, October 7, 1:30 and 2:30 p.m., Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, OH
• Oberlin Heritage Center – Saturday, September 22, 12 p.m., Oberlin Heritage Center, Oberlin, OH
• Salem Historical Society – Saturday, September 22, 1 p.m., Dale Shaffer Library, Salem, OH
• Spring Hill Historic Home – Sunday, September 23, 2 p.m., Spring Hill Historic Home, Massillon, OH
• Sutliff Museum – Saturday, September 22, 1 p.m., William McKinley Museum, Niles, OH
• Wayne County Civil War Roundtable – Tuesday, September 18, 6:30 p.m., Wooster Library, Wooster, OH
• Westerville City Council – Tuesday, September 18, 7 p.m., Westerville City Council Chambers, Westerville, OH
• Worthington Historical Society – Saturday, September 22, 11 a.m., Steps of the Worthington Inn, Worthington, OH

Thank you to all participating organizations!  If you are having an Emancipation Proclamation event and not on this list, please let Amy Rohmiller know by emailing arohmiller@ohiohistory.org.

President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, four days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s retreat into Virginia following the Battle of Antietam.  The proclamation declared that all slaves in areas of the country still in rebellion on January 1, 1863 “henceforward shall be free.”  Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery everywhere in the United States, it still had an important impact.  Before the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union’s goal in the Civil War had been to preserve the Union.  After the Emancipation Proclamation, the goal was also to end slavery.