The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation: Preservation and Presentation

The New York State Legislature purchased the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation for $1,000, following the assassination of Lincoln in 1865, and gave it to the State Library.

New York State Capitol Fire, 1911

In the early hours of March 29, 1911, a fire raged through the New York State Capitol. The State Library and other areas of the building's upper floors were destroyed. Lost were half a million books and a quarter-million manuscripts, one of the most tragic library disasters of modern times. New York's copy of the manuscript version of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, housed in a safe on the Capitol's first floor, was saved, along with other priceless historical documents including several original New York State Constitutions, autographs of signers of the Declaration of Independence, and an important copy of George Washington's Farewell Address.

It is ironic that the manuscript of the final version of the Emancipation Proclamation in Lincoln's hand, owned by the Chicago Historical Society, was destroyed in that city's famous fire in 1871. Ironic too is that the State Library collections destroyed in 1911 were scheduled to be moved into the new State Education Building which was supposed to have been completed by then. Construction delays held up its completion, and the State Education Building did not open until 1912. (Information courtesy of the New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections .)

Proclamation Rescued

Harlan Hoyt Horner is credited with saving New York's copy of the Emancipation Proclamation from destruction during the 1911 Capitol fire. Horner, a State Education Department official, was awakened early on March 29th and informed of the fire racing through the Capitol. Having worked as Secretary to Education Commissioner Andrew Draper, he knew about the collection of priceless historical documents that was kept in a safe in the Education Department's offices on the building's first floor. After an agonizingly slow two-mile streetcar ride from his home, Horner arrived downtown. The Capitol was ablaze, the State Library on the third floor was already destroyed, and water from firemen's hoses was already reaching the first floor when he located the safe. After hurriedly getting the combination from Commissioner Draper, Horner was able to remove the Proclamation and the other documents to a secure and dry location. It is fitting that Harlan Horner is remembered today for his accomplishments as a Lincoln scholar and author, as well as for his efforts in saving New York's Proclamation.

New York State Freedom Train Catalog

In 1950 and 1951, the State Library's copy of the Emancipation Proclamation was exhibited on New York State's Freedom Train. Along with dozens of other priceless documents, thousands saw the Proclamation as it toured New York in specially constructed railroad cars. This was the longest period that the Proclamation had been absent from Albany since its purchase in 1865.

Emancipation Proclamation Centennial, 1962

The New York State Civil War Centennial Commission sponsored many programs in the early 1960s aimed at increasing understanding and appreciation of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. In September 1962, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a featured speaker at the Commission's 100th anniversary commemoration of the Proclamation. Later that month, New York's copy of the Proclamation was displayed at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., serving as the centerpiece of the nation's centennial celebration of this historic document.

Design for a Monument to the Emancipation Proclamation, 1962

The New York State Civil War Centennial Commission proposed a permanent monument to display the State Library's copy of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Harlan Hoyt Horner, rescuer of the Proclamation in 1911, served as chairman of the shrine's planning committee. The monument, planned for the rotunda of Albany's State Education Building, was never built.

Architectural Proposals of Proposed Arch of Freedom, 1963

Initial designs for Albany's Empire State Plaza included a 336-foot-high Arch of Freedom to house New York's manuscript of the preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Arch was to be centered on a platform between separate State Library and State Archives buildings, while the multi-floor platform was to hold the State Museum. The Arch of Freedom was eliminated from design plans primarily because it did not give a solid architectural anchor to the Plaza's south end. The present Cultural Education Center replaced the Arch of Freedom, providing a strong counter balance to the State Capitol at the north end of the Plaza. Completed in 1978, the Cultural Education Center is home to the New York State Archives, the State Library, and the State Museum.

Other Resources

At the New York State Education Department's Office of Cultural Education

  • Finding Aids to many of the special collections at the New York State Library, including some Civil War-related collections such as the Gouverneur Kemble Warren Papers, Civil War Collections, and William Woods Averell Papers (New York State Library)
  • The Civil War Drawings of Edward Lamson Henry (New York State Museum)
  • The following record series in the New York State Archives contain information about the proposed shrine for the Emancipation Proclamation in the Education Building:  A1444, A1445, B0928, and B0309. (New York State Archives)
  • In a letter dated December 15, 1863, Henry Spencer Murray writes at Camp Parole to Will, "...we have big times at dinner discussing the amnesty and Emancipation Proclamations." (New York State Library)

Federal Government Sources

Other Sources

(Some information courtesy the New York State Archives)

Last Updated: August 12, 2009