Unfortunately, when America looks itself in the mirror in the present tense, if we are willing, we see that we have never been so enslaved. Please take time to listen to Bob Barney’s recent broadcasts on the subject: American Slavery in the 21st Century, and How Government Regulations Are Enslaving Americans
February 1, 1865 — Today is National Freedom Day, which celebrates the signing of a resolution that proposed the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, which outlaws slavery.
It declares: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
Congress passed it on Jan. 31, 1865, it was ratified by the following December.
Maj. Richard Robert Wright, Sr., a former slave who founded the National Freedom Day Association, played a crucial role in creating the observance. A community leader in Philadelphia, Wright hoped to see a day that would be dedicated to celebrating freedom for all Americans. READ MORE>>>>
HARRY S TRUMAN
33rdPresident of the United States:1945 ‐ 1953
Proclamation 2824—National Freedom Day
January 25, 1949
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Whereas, near the end of the tragic conflict between the Northern and Southern States, the Congress adopted a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution which would outlaw slavery in the United States and in every place subject to its jurisdiction; and
Whereas the resolution was signed by President Lincoln on February 1, 1865, and thereafter led to the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the constitution; and
Whereas that Amendment is a corner stone in the foundation of our American traditions, and the signing of the resolution is a landmark in the Nation’s effort to fulfill the principles of freedom and justice proclaimed in the first ten amendments to the Constitution; and
Whereas, by a joint resolution approved June 30, 1948 (62 Stat. 1150), the Congress authorized the President to proclaim the first day of February of each year as National Freedom Day in commemoration of the signing of the resolution of February 1, 1865; and
Whereas the Government and people of the United States wholeheartedly support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948, which declares that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”:
Now, Therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate February 1, 1949, and each succeeding February 1, as national Freedom Day; and I call upon the people of the United States to pause on that day in solemn contemplation of the glorious blessings of freedom which we humbly and thankfully enjoy.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington this 25th day of January in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-third.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
By the President:
DEAN ACHESON,
Secretary of State.