September 22, 1862: President Abraham Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation
Mr. COX:This is the 150th anniversary of the Republican Party. Over a century and a half from the abolition of slavery to the establishment of women's rights to the freeing of millions of people in the Soviet Union, Afghanistan, and in Iraq, the Republican Party has been the most effective political organization in the history of the world in advancing the cause of freedom.
So that all of us can learn more about the achievements of this fundamentally American institution, the House Republican Policy Committee has published the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar. Each day, a civil rights milestone in the history of the Republican Party is listed.
Yesterday was the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. President Lincoln’s signing of it sparks howls of protests from democrats in Congress and across the country. But it was based on legislation passed in this Congress just two months before. Every single republican voted for freeing the slaves and every single democrat voted against it.
This is just one of 365 civil rights firsts that can be found in the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar.
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