In January 1863, Lincoln signed the historic Emancipation Proclamation into law, a critical step toward abolishing slavery in the United States. Despite common belief, the act freed slaves in select states, not all. In this edition of Moments in Civil Rights History, a collaboration of Comcast and the Equal Justice Initiative, a hallmark executive action lays the groundwork for the 13th Amendment — but not before two more bloody years of war test the nation's resolve. | Voices of the Civil Right

On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, one of the most memorable speeches in American history. | WISN 12 NEWS