The Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863), operative clause
Abraham Lincoln. Learn it by heart on Slate.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.