The Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared all Confederate slaves to be free. Because the order only applied to Southern states that the Union did not control, few slaves benefited immediately. Learn more about this historic document that served as a key turning point in the U.S. Civil War and in the movement to abolish slavery. Additional features include detailed captions and sidebars, critical-thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, and sources for further research.