The Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, was a pivotal wartime measure during the American Civil War that declared the freedom of slaves in the eleven rebellious states. While not a law from Congress, it utilized Lincoln's authority as commander in chief to command the Union Army to recognize and maintain the freedom of these individuals, impacting around 3 million of the nation's 4 million slaves. Although the Proclamation did not compensate slave owners, abolish slavery, or grant citizenship to freedmen, it established the fight against slavery as a key objective in the war effort to reunite the nation.