Admission fees waived for public viewing
DEARBORN – The original Emancipation Proclamation will be on precedent-setting display June 20 to 22 at The Henry Ford. The event is part of the Henry Ford Museum’s Discovering the Civil War exhibit.
Doors to museum will open to the public at 6 p.m. June 20 and remain open around the clock until 6 a.m. June 22. Admission to view the display is free. A brief opening ceremony will be held at 6:45 p.m. June 20.
The scheduled appearance marks the first time since 1948 that the Emancipation Proclamation will be on display in Michigan.
“It is truly both an honor and privilege to be able to have this precious document on display for everyone to view,” said Patricia E. Mooradian, president of The Henry Ford. “This is one of our most treasured pieces of American history and Henry Ford Museum, with our With Liberty and Justice For All exhibition just steps away, provides the perfect setting for this emotionally-stirring event.”
For this special viewing, The Henry Ford will put on a series of recitations, musical performances and other presentations, including a re-creation of a Civil War encampment to be erected on the museum’s front lawn.
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on Sept. 22, 1862, by President Abraham Lincoln, became effective on Jan 1, 1863, and formally proclaimed the freedom of all slaves. This document invited black men to join the Union Army and Navy, resulting in the enlistment of approximately 200,000 freed slaves and free black people before the war’s end.
Discovering the Civil War, the most extensive display of Civil War records ever assembled from the holdings of the National Archives, presents little-known stories, seldom-seen documents and unusual perspectives in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
For more information, call (313) 982-6001 or go to www.thehenryford.org.