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2012年12月31日

《解放奴隶宣言》150周年

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美利坚合众国总统公告

1862年12月31日标志着我国又一个内战之年的结束。在夏洛（Shiloh）、七棵松（Seven Pines）、哈珀斯弗里（Harpers Ferry）和安蒂特姆（Antietam），兄弟曾相互厮杀，姐妹曾彼此对峙。鲜血和怨恨加深了南北方的隔阂，破坏了曾把34个州联合在同一面旗帜之下的感情纽带。由于奴隶制的存在，生命和自由在美国尚不是所有人与生俱来的权利，而仅是某些人的特权 。

但是，即使是在那些黑暗的日子里，光明依在，希望不灭。在过去一年的困顿让位于新一年的憧憬之际，亚伯拉罕•林肯（Abraham Lincoln）总统发布了《解放奴隶宣言》（Emancipation Proclamation），充满勇气地宣告，1863年1月1日，在反叛地区的“所有被迫为奴的人”“即刻起、从今以后且永远地获得自由”。他为非裔美国人打开加入联邦陆军和海军的大门，给自由事业注入了新的力量。通过这份文件，林肯总统也使这场战争被赋予了新的道德力量，使之成为一场不仅是为了保存国家，而且是为了赋予权利的斗争。他努力使我们的人民不仅基于政府，而且基于不受肤色或信仰限制的自由重新团结起来。每一场战斗成为捍卫自由的战斗，每一场斗争成为捍卫平等的斗争。

我们的第16届总统还了解，尽管我们中的每一个人都拥有我们各自的权利和责任，但有些事情却是我们无法独自完成的。只有一个联邦才能服务于所有公民的希望，清除获得机会的障碍，使我们每个人都有可能追求自己的最高抱负。他知道，在这样一个合众国中，当我们确保对共同利益的追求有益于，而不是否定个人的自由时，就没有不可实现的梦想。

正是这种精神带来了奴隶解放，并使之成为我们的《宪法》规范。正是这种对我们能共同成就事业的信念，推动了数百万人在后来的岁月里为争取正义而挺进。今天，我们不仅要铭记这份遗产，而且要创造我们自己的业绩。在新年开始之际，让我们为彼此间的纽带重新注入新的力量，重新投入摆在我们面前的工作，并且相信，我们能够在我们的时代继续将自由推向前进。

为此，我，美利坚合众国总统巴拉克·欧巴马，谨以美国《宪法》和法律赋予我的权力，特此宣布2013年1月1日为《解放奴隶宣言》150周年纪念日。我吁请全体美国人民以适当的安排、仪式和活动来纪念《解放奴隶宣言》并重申其所支持的不朽原则。

公元2012年，美利坚合众国独立第237年之12月31日，我谨在此亲笔签名为证。

巴拉克•奥巴马

Read more: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/chinese/texttrans/2013/01/20130102140593.html#ixzz2GzI6jXDC

Proclamation on 150th Anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
December 31, 2012

150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

On December 31, 1862, our Nation marked the end of another year of civil war. At Shiloh and Seven Pines, Harpers Ferry and Antietam, brother had fought against brother. Sister had fought against sister. Blood and bitterness had deepened the divide that separated North from South, eroding the bonds of affection that once united 34 States under a single flag. Slavery still suspended the possibility of an America where life and liberty were the birthright of all, not the province of some.

Yet, even in those dark days, light persisted. Hope endured. As the weariness of an old year gave way to the promise of a new one, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation -- courageously declaring that on January 1, 1863, "all persons held as slaves" in rebellious areas "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." He opened the Union Army and Navy to African Americans, giving new strength to liberty's cause. And with that document, President Lincoln lent new moral force to the war by making it a fight not just to preserve, but also to empower. He sought to reunite our people not only in government, but also in freedom that knew no bounds of color or creed. Every battle became a battle for liberty itself. Every struggle became a struggle for equality.

Our 16th President also understood that while each of us is entitled to our individual rights and responsibilities, there are certain things we cannot accomplish on our own. Only a Union could serve the hopes of every citizen, knocking down the barriers to opportunity and giving each of us the chance to pursue our highest aspirations. He knew that in these United States, no dream could ever be beyond our reach when we affirm that individual liberty is served, not negated, by seeking the common good.

It is that spirit that made emancipation possible and codified it in our Constitution. It is that belief in what we can do together that moved millions to march for justice in the years that followed. And today, it is a legacy we choose not only to remember, but also to make our own. Let us begin this new year by renewing our bonds to one another and reinvesting in the work that lies ahead, confident that we can keep driving freedom's progress in our time.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 1, 2013, as the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation and reaffirm the timeless principles it upheld.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

Read more: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2012/12/20121231140550.html#ixzz2GzIIUSQ2