[Colonel Kangaroo]

Lincoln wrote it. It was Seward’s job as Secretary of State to actually issue the proclamation.

[Sherman Logan]

According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work.