The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation Before the Cabinet

This engraving was done from the painting by Francis B. Carpenter of Lincoln reading the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation before his Cabinet. Lincoln understood that this important event needed to be recorded for future generations and in 1864 allowed Carpenter to live in the White House for six months to sketch portraits of Lincoln and the members of the Cabinet to be used in the final painting.