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In January the National Archives marked the 130th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. This landmark document was on public display for the first time since 1979 in the Archives Rotunda between December 31, 1992, and January 4, 1993. A specially constructed case made it possible for nearly twenty thousand visitors to see the entire document, which is written on both sides of two large sheets of paper and one side of a third sheet. This was, in fact, the first time that it has been possible to display the entire text at once.

The National Archives concluded this special 130th anniversary commemoration with a public lecture by one of the foremost scholarly authorities on the Emancipation Proclamation, Dr. John Hope Franklin. Dr. Franklin's remarks are included in this issue of Prologue, along with a facsimile of parts of the document he has rightly termed "a great American document of freedom."

As the Civil War began, the Confederate Gen. Pierre G. T. Beauregard said, "The political hostilities of a generation were now face to face with weapons instead of words." For four bloody years Americans used those weapons, but they did not forget the power of words. Ultimately words rather than bloodshed became the war's greatest and most lasting legacy. The Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's Second Inaugural, and the Emancipation Proclamation are some of the greatest documents not only of our own history but of human history.

The document we commemorated in January was conceived and proclaimed during some of

the darkest days of the Civil War. But through that darkness shone forth this simple but eloquent beacon of hope, full of promise. Lincoln's proclamation pledged that this nation was moving, however imperfectly at first, toward the goal of freedom and equal rights under the law for all Americans. The Emancipation Proclamation illuminated a key step along the path of human progress.

Over the years, we have practically loved this priceless document to death-not unlike the Declaration of Independence, which shows today the effects of many years of overexposure. In a sense, all archival work reflects the tension between careful preservation and public access. But we have a particular dilemma with a great document like the Emancipation Proclamation. Too much of either preservation or access is not wise: If we keep documents away from all light and other harmful environmental conditions, we deny ourselves the opportunity to see and treasure them. But if we display vulnerable documents too much, we risk or even hasten their eventual loss.

Had a National Archives existed when the Emancipation Proclamation was created (or when the Declaration of Independence was drafted, for that matter), both of these nowfragile documents would be in much better condition today. The fundamental responsibility of the National Archives is ensuring against further deterioration of either document so that future generations will have them to see and to treasure. We are proud to fulfill that responsibility on behalf of the American people and for all those who treasure freedom.

Dr. Franklin's remarks helped to illuminate

the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation and its place in history as a beacon of hope for all peoples. Penned in highly acidic ink on inferior paper over a century ago, then overexposed to light and overhandled, the document itself is now in a weakened condition. Although its words on paper may be faint today, its precious message remains as radiant and clear as ever. And with proper care, long after all of us are gone, the Emancipation Proclamation will still be here, shining forth with that enduring message of freedom-and of hope.

The Civil War produced another landmark: the great dome on the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Completion of the dome was an act of great optimism, confidence, and courage on the part of the federal government, and by President Lincoln himself, who insisted that the work go on even when the fortunes of war were rather bleak for the Union. In early 1865, the eastward-gazing, nineteen-and-one-half-foot statue of Freedom was finally hoisted to the top of the dome, symbolizing that a reunited nation could look toward a future of freedom for all its peoples.

The statue was a visible symbol of freedom, and it remains one today. But the Emancipation Proclamation was more than a symbol: It was producing some highly visible consequences all across the land. The Proclamation had already changed the character of the Civil War, under

lining the Union's view of the conflict as one for freedom. In addition, increasing numbers of black men had served in uniform, and every advance of Union troops expanded the domain of freedom for former slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation thus undoubtedly hastened victory. As Dr. Franklin has said, there was now no turning back: Slavery was doomed in the United States.

The Emancipation Proclamation also served as a vital foundation for the Thirteenth Amendment, which banned slavery, and for subsequent efforts to secure the rights of freedom for black Americans. Still later, the Proclamation inspired those who took direct action to call attention to the lingering gap between promise and reality. The Emancipation Proclamation remains an important symbol of our struggle to attain the ideal of liberty and freedom upon which our nation was founded and upon which we base our self-government. May this document, carefully preserved by the National Archives, long continue to inspire both us and all other freedom-loving persons around the globe.

Mudy Huskamp Peterson

Acting Archivist of the United States

Josiah Ober is professor of Greek history at Princeton University and co-director of the Democracy 2,500 Project, sponsored by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. He has written Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People (1989) and other books and articles on Greek history and archaeology.

Catherine Vanderpool is associate director of the Democracy 2,500 Project. She is Director/U.S. Operations for the American School and has lectured on Greek and Roman art and archaeology. She is currently preparing a publication on Roman portrait sculpture from the school's excavation in Corinth. Jennifer Tolbert Roberts is professor of history at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and visiting professor of classical languages at the City College of New York. She is the author of Accountability in Athenian Government (1985) and the coauthor with Richard Greaves and Robert Zaller of Civilizations of the West: The Human Adventure.

John Hope Franklin has taught at Fisk University, the University of Chicago, and most recently, Duke

University, where he is James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus. Past president of the American Historical Association and the Society of Phi Beta Kappa, his publications include From Slavery to Freedom (1947), The Emancipation Proclamation (1963), and Race and History: Selected Essays, 1938-1988 (1990).

Michael J. Lewandowski is an archivist in the Civil Reference Branch of the National Archives. He holds a B.A. in history from The American University and is an M.A. candidate at the University of Maryland. He serves as treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2578.

Lynn A. Bassanese is the public affairs specialist at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, New York. She received her B.A. in history from Marist College.

Patricia A. Eames coordinates 207 National Archives volunteers and directs tour and school workshop programs for visitors to the National Archives. She received her B.A. in political science and philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder.