Posted by DEAN SKIP RUTHERFORD – For only four days, September 22-25, the Emancipation Proclamation will be on display at the Clinton Presidential Library in downtown Little Rock. The Emancipation Proclamation is one of the nation’s most treasured and historical documents. President Abraham Lincoln issued it as an executive order on January 1, 1863 giving him the legal authority in order to fee slaves in the South. The 13th amendment to the Constitution officially abolished slavery.
The showing will be the first time the Emancipation Proclamation has been in Arkansas. A few years ago when I was serving as President of the Clinton Foundation, I asked Allen Weinstein, the Archivist of the United States, if the Emancipation Proclamation could be displayed here during the 50th anniversary commemoration of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. I am grateful to the Archivist and the National Archives staff for making this possible. A special thanks also goes to former Clinton Library Director David Alsobrook for his counsel and assistance.
According to the Archivist, the Emancipation Proclamation was transferred to the National Archives from the State Department in 1936. It can be displayed for only a few days each year because of the need to preserve its fragile paper from decay.
The Arkansas viewing dates and hours are as follows:
Saturday, September 22 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday, September 23 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Monday, September 24 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, September 25 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Reservations are being accepted beginning Wednesday August 1. Call 501-244-2856 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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