On this day 159 years ago, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation

Following the Union victory over Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln announced his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22. In it he issued the Confederacy an ultimatum: return to the Union by January 1, 1863, or your slaves will be from thenceforth forever free. The Confederacy did not take the bait and on January 1, 1863 - 159 years ago today - Abraham Lincoln announced that every slave in those states in rebellion were freed men from that day forward. Obviously there were several problems with this. Firstly, the Union at that point had no jurisdiction over much of the Confederacy and so the proclamation had little effect in those areas. Also, the proclamation did not touch slaves in states still loyal to the Union. And finally there was the issue of legality. Could the President of the United States issue such a decree constitutionally? Lincoln's Attorney General, Edward Bates, had his doubts but Lincoln went through with it anyway.

Despite the problems, as well as its widespread unpopularity, the Emancipation Proclamation immediately freed tens of thousands of slaves then currently living in occupied territory (particularly in Louisiana and Tennessee). It also convinced European nations - such as England and France - to remain neutral in the conflict as their nations couldn't be seen defending a belligerent nation fighting to preserve the institution of slavery.

And it all went down....159 years ago today.