National Freedom Day

What the day is

National Freedom Day is observed on February 1. It marks the day in 1865 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the joint resolution of Congress that proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery in the United States. The amendment was not finished until it was ratified by enough states later that year, in December 1865.

The day is a recognition of freedom as an ideal, and of the long effort that it took to secure it. It is separate from Juneteenth, which marks the news of emancipation reaching Texas in 1865.

Origin and background

The day owes its existence to Richard Robert Wright Sr., a man who had been born into slavery in Georgia and went on to become a college president, a banker and a civic leader in Philadelphia. He began organizing observances of the date in the early 1940s and lobbied for national recognition. In 1948 Congress passed, and President Harry Truman signed, a resolution setting February 1 as National Freedom Day.

Many towns hold ceremonies, and Philadelphia has long held a wreath-laying at the Liberty Bell. Congress has also asked the president to issue a proclamation each year, which a number of presidents have done. It is not a federal holiday and does not close offices or schools.

The Thirteenth Amendment is short. It says that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in the United States or any place under its jurisdiction, except as punishment for a crime of which the person has been duly convicted. That exception has been a subject of continuing debate.

How to take part

• Read the Thirteenth Amendment, which takes less than a minute, and the history of how it passed.
• Learn about Richard Robert Wright Sr. and others who pressed for the observance.
• Visit a museum or a historic site that tells the story of slavery and abolition, such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
• Attend or watch a local ceremony, or lay a flower at a memorial.
• Support an organization that works against modern forms of forced labor and trafficking.