The Most Important Events That Changed History Forever

Abolishment of Slavery in the U.S. (1863)

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves in Confederate regions were free. Although three million Confederate slaves were freed by the decree, Black Americans, particularly in the South, were subjected to other forms of white supremacist violence and involuntary labor under the Black Codes.

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The More You Know

  • War pigs were used in ancient warfare to counter against war elephants, which feared the pigs (and their squeals) and would bolt. War pigs were sometimes lit on fire to enhance this effect.
  • The loudest animal on earth is the sperm whale.
  • The world's most densely populated island is the size of two soccer fields.
  • You make approximately a teaspoon of tears per hour.
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