Emancipation Proclamation
January 1, 1863 · 19th Century
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring freedom for enslaved persons in rebellious Confederate states. The proclamation changed the legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans in secessionist territories and shifted the Civil War's focus from preserving the Union to also ending slavery. The order exempted border states and Union-controlled Confederate areas but enabled Black soldiers to join the Union Army, contributing to slavery's complete abolition through the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.
Key Figures
Abraham LincolnWilliam H. Seward
Locations
Washington, D.C.
Topics
american civil warCivil Warslaveryemancipationafrican american history
Connected Events — 3 Connections
Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation and leadership in ending slavery made him the target of Booth assassination conspiracy President Lincoln Assassinated
The 13th Amendment permanently codified Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation into constitutional law, closing the legal loophole that the wartime executive order could have been reversed Thirteenth Amendment Ratified
Created the social conditions that allowed formerly enslaved African Americans like Scott Joplin to pursue musical careers and develop distinctly African American art forms Maple Leaf Rag published
The Time Detectives® · Cadet Mission
Investigate This Event
Place it on the timeline. Earn points. Master the connections.
New to The Time Detectives?
Learn what it is →