U.S. Archives To Display Emancipation Proclamation

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Archives is placing the original Emancipation Proclamation on display in Washington to mark Black History Month.

The special display will run from Feb. 15 to Feb. 17. The document will be shown in the archives' new "Records of Rights" permanent exhibit about the evolution of rights and freedoms from the nation's founding.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War in 1863 to proclaim that freedom of all slaves held in the South. The proclamation also was an invitation for black men to join the Union Army and Navy, and it made slavery a top wartime issue.

The original document is displayed for only a limited time each year because of its fragile condition.