Emancipation Proclamation History. The Emancipation Proclamation evolved over time, with a preliminary proclamation in July 1862, further refinement in September 1862, and then the final document which was signed on New Year's Day 1863. This webpage from the Library of Congress gives the details.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/34a.asp
Several articles within the Confederate States’ Constitution specifically protected slavery within the Confederacy, but some articles of the U.S. Constitution also protected slavery—the Emancipation Proclamation drew a clearer distinction between the two.
http://www.historynet.com/emancipation-proclamation
Although it is nearly impossible to quantify with precision, Lincoln and Seward believed the Emancipation Proclamation freed at least 200,000 slaves by February 1865, as Union troops marched farther into the Confederacy, setting blacks free in their path.
http://www.historynet.com/emancipation-proclamation
Lincoln needed a decisive Union victory to lend credence to the proclamation and got one at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, which had ended Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s first Northern invasion.
http://www.historynet.com/emancipation-proclamation
As a result, the British did not recognize the Confederate States of America, and Antietam became one of the war's most important diplomatic battles, as well as one of the bloodiest. Five days after the battle, Lincoln decided to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, effective January 1, 1863.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/34a.asp
Exactly 100 days earlier, Lincoln had issued a preliminary proclamation, vowing to free the slaves in all states still in active rebellion against the federal authority on this day, January 1. The rebellion had continued, but many doubted until the very last minute that Lincoln would make good his threat.
http://www.historynet.com/emancipation-proclamation
First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln, painted by Francis Carpenter in 1864. Americans tend to think of the Civil War as being fought to end slavery. Even one full year into the Civil War, the elimination of slavery was not a key objective of the North.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/34a.asp
A second unauthorized emancipation proclamation was issued on May 9, 1862, by Maj. Gen. David Hunter. This proclamation not only declared to be free all slaves in areas of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, it authorized the arming of able-bodied blacks.
http://www.historynet.com/emancipation-proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation. Americans tend to think of the Civil War as being fought to end slavery. Even one full year into the Civil War, the elimination of slavery was not a key objective of the North.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/34a.asp
–Abraham Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation Jan. 1, 1863. While the Civil War began as a war to restore the Union, not to end slavery, by 1862 President Abraham Lincoln came to believe that he could save the Union only by broadening the goals of the war. The Emancipation Proclamation is generally regarded as marking this sharp change in the goals of Lincoln's war policy.
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/emancipation-proclamation-freedoms-first-steps
when was emancipation proclamation issued
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on May 9, 1862. Emancipation Proclamation was issued on May 9, 1862.