In the North, today’s edition of Harper’s Weekly features a celebrative illustration of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln‘s Emancipation Proclamation, drawn by Thomas Nast. A family of former slaves is pictured in the center, with a portrait of Lincoln hanging on the wall. The past is illustrated to the left, and a hopeful future is envisioned…
Michigan’s oldest black congregation, the Second Baptist Church, was founded in 1836 by thirteen former slaves. In 1839 the congregation established the city’s first school for black children. Second Baptist’s first pastor, the Reverend William C. Monroe, was a noted anti-slavery activist. In 1843 Monroe presided over the first State Convention of Colored Citizens, which…
“Freedom’s Eve” has given way to the morning of January 1, the day U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln arises in anticipation of signing the Proclamation, only to be distracted by a message from General Ambrose Burnside who, following his defeat at Fredericksburg two weeks earlier, is offended by a…