January 6, 1941 – In his Annual Message to Congress, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks of Four Freedoms – the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear.
history
On This Day
January 5, 1933 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began.
On This Day
January 4, 1981 – The Broadway show “Frankenstein” lost an estimated $2 million, when it opened and closed on the same night.
Jan. 1, 1863: President Lincoln Signs the Emancipation Proclamation
On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared, “all persons held as slaves within any States, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves in the United States. Rather, it declared free only those slaves living in states not under Union control. It also allowed black soldiers to fight for the Union — soldiers that were desperately needed. Lastly, it tied the issue of slavery directly to the Civil War.
Watch this American Experience video to learn more about the Emancipation Proclamation.
Image: Photograph of a reproduction of the Emancipation Proclamation, 1864.
On This Day
January 1, 45 B.C. – New Year’s Day is celebrated on January 1 for the first time in history as the Julian calendar takes effect.
On This Day
December 31, 1929 – Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played “Auld Lang Syne” as a New Year’s Eve song for the first time.
On This Day
December 29, 1888 – The first performance of Macbeth took place at the Lyceum Theatre.
Elysian Waters 