The Emancipation Proclamation

What happened

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all enslaved people in the rebelling states 'are, and henceforward shall be free.' It applied only to Confederate-held areas, not the loyal border states, and it authorized the enlistment of Black men in the Union army and navy.

Why it matters

The Proclamation transformed the war into a struggle for freedom and opened the way for nearly 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors to fight for the Union.

Sources

• U.S. National Archives. Emancipation Proclamation (1863) · Primary source