Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It purported to change the federal legal status of more than 3 million enslaved people in the designated areas of the South from "e;slave"e; to "e;free"e;, although its immediate effect was less. It had the practical effect that as soon as a slave escaped the co...