January 1, 1863: Nearly nine months after Congress passed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring free “all persons held as slaves within any States, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States.”
February 25, 1863: Congress established a national banking system, creating a system of national banks and promoting the development of a uniform national currency.
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