The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863. It freed all slaves in areas then in rebellion against the United States (i.e., the Confederacy). It made emancipation a war goal and speeded the destruction of slavery.

Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, the proclamation became effective on January 1, 1863. It was a declaration freeing the slaves in those territories still rebelling against the Union.

Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order in 1863 by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, which declared the freedom of all slaves in those areas of the rebellious Confederate States of America that had not already returned to Union control.