In January 1863, Lincoln signed the historic Emancipation Proclamation into law, a critical step toward abolishing slavery in the United States. Despite common belief, the act freed slaves in select states, not all. In this edition of Moments in Civil Rights History, a collaboration of Comcast and the Equal Justice Initiative, a hallmark executive action lays the groundwork for the 13th Amendment — but not before two more bloody years of war test the nation's resolve. | Voices of the Civil Right

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The Emancipation Proclamation freed only enslaved people living in Confederate states. Many enslaved southerners first learned they were free from Union soldiers carrying copies of the decree. A miniature booklet was produced so Union soldiers could read the proclamation aloud on plantations and in cities across the South. Smithsonian Secretary and NMAAHC Founding Director Lonnie G. Bunch III explores this object in our Slavery and Freedom gallery. | Smithsonian's National Museum of African Amer