WASHINGTON -- Issued 150 years ago this week, President Abraham
Lincoln's initial proclamation to free Southern slaves is
enjoying a public showcase to match its increased profile among
scholars. Lincoln released his lesser-known preliminary
Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862. That was 100 days
before the final version. The first of the two documents has
gained importance among historians as a turning point in the
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today Edward Ayers is a historian and president of the
University of Richmond. He says slavery and its abolition were
once treated as minor parts of the Civil War, but that began to
change after the Civil Rights movement. The official government
copy of the preliminary proclamation goes on display in New York
on Saturday, while other commemorations of emancipation kicked
off earlier this week.