What was the Emancipation Proclamation?

The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. This proclamation declared that all enslaved people in Confederate states were to be set free. Its primary goal was to weaken the Confederate war effort by depriving it of enslaved labor, thus asserting that the U.S. government viewed the abolition of slavery as a critical step towards preserving the Union.

While the Emancipation Proclamation did not abolish slavery across the entire United States—which would later require the 13th Amendment—it specifically targeted the Confederate states in rebellion. This distinction is crucial as it illustrates Lincoln's strategy to leverage emancipation as a wartime measure without overstepping his constitutional authority regarding states not in rebellion, such as those in the Union that still practiced slavery.

Additionally, it is important to understand the broader implications of the Proclamation. It shifted the focus of the Civil War to include the fight against slavery as a central objective, allowing for the enlistment of Black soldiers into the Union Army and changing both military and diplomatic dynamics of the conflict.

The other options do not adequately capture the Emancipation Proclamation's specific nature and intent. A law abolishing all forms of slavery incorrectly