What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

Why This Matters

This question asks what the Emancipation Proclamation did. The accepted answers are: freed the slaves, freed slaves in the Confederacy, freed slaves in the Confederate states, or freed slaves in most Southern states. Any of these answers will be accepted by USCIS.

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, in the middle of the Civil War. This executive order declared that all enslaved people in the states that had rebelled against the Union, the Confederate states, were now free. It was a bold and historic move that changed the entire purpose of the war. Before the Proclamation, the Union was fighting mainly to keep the country together. After it, the war became a fight to end slavery as well.

It is important to understand what the Emancipation Proclamation did and did not do. It freed enslaved people in the Confederate states, but it did not immediately free enslaved people in the border states that had stayed loyal to the Union, such as Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri. Lincoln made this choice for strategic reasons, he did not want to lose the support of those border states. Also, since the Confederacy did not recognize Lincoln's authority, many enslaved people were not actually freed until Union soldiers arrived to enforce the order. Full abolition of slavery across the entire United States came later, with the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. Still, the Emancipation Proclamation was a critical first step that signaled the end of slavery in America.

Key Facts

• The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863
• It freed enslaved people in the Confederate (Southern) states
• It did not free slaves in the border states that remained loyal to the Union
• It changed the purpose of the Civil War to include ending slavery
• The Thirteenth Amendment (1865) later abolished all slavery in the United States

Common Mistakes

• Saying "it freed all slaves everywhere", it only applied to the Confederate states, not the border states
• Saying "it ended the Civil War", the war continued for more than two years after the Proclamation
• Confusing the Emancipation Proclamation with the Thirteenth Amendment, the Proclamation was a wartime order; the Amendment changed the Constitution permanently

Study Tip

Focus on the word "emancipation", it means setting someone free. The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves. If you remember that "emancipation" equals "freedom," you will always know what this document did. Connect it to Lincoln (Question 75) for a stronger memory.