What did the Emancipation Proclamation accomplish?

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, specifically declared that all slaves in Confederate-held territory were to be set free. This was a strategic move aimed at undermining the Confederacy's war effort, as it aimed to weaken their labor force and bolster the Union's ranks by allowing African Americans to enlist in the Union army.

While the proclamation did not free all slaves in the United States, it was a significant step toward the eventual abolition of slavery, culminating in the Thirteenth Amendment. It is important to note that the proclamation applied only to states in rebellion and not to slave-holding border states that remained loyal to the Union or areas already under Union control.

The proclamation indeed allowed for the recruitment of African American soldiers into the Union army, which contributed to the war effort but was not its primary accomplishment. Furthermore, the Emancipation Proclamation did not end the Civil War; that occurred later in 1865 with the Union's victory. Thus, the proclamation's primary legacy is its direct impact on the status of enslaved people in the Confederacy.