He issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862 and the final version on January 1, 1863, fundamentally changing the meaning of the war. The final Emancipation Proclamation: Declared "forever free" more than 3.5 million slaves in Confederate areas still in rebellion against the Union. read more
Emancipation Proclamation summary: The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, as the country entered the third year of the Civil War. read more
Emancipation Proclamation View the Complete Text The Emancipation Proclamation is the name given to an executive order signed by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War and which took effect on January 1, 1863. read more
The proclamation also authorized the recruitment of freed slaves and free blacks as Union soldiers; during the next 2 1/2 years 180,000 of them fought in the Union army and 10,000 in the navy, making a vital contribution to Union victory as well as their own freedom. Emancipation would vastly increase the stakes of the war. read more