About the Emancipation Proclamation

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862 and became effective on January 1, 1863. It stated that all slaves in the Confederate states were free and that the Union military would fight to preserve that freedom.

The Emancipation Proclamation also invited former slaves to join the Union military. By the end of the war almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union.

The proclamation paved the way for the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (December 1865), which ended slavery in the United States. Today, the original Emancipation Proclamation resides at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

A service of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.

Last updated: December 15, 2008
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