What is Emancipation Proclamation?
[[File:Adalbert J Volck Writing the Emancipation Proclamation political cartoon.jpg|thumb|Hostile cartoon about Lincoln writing the Proclamation]] The '''Emancipation Proclamation''' was an order by U.S. President [[Abraham Lincoln]] to free [[Slavery|slaves]] in 10 states. It applied to slaves in the [[Confederate States of America|states still in rebellion]] in 1863 during the [[American Civil War]]. It did not actually immediately free all slaves in those states, because they were still controlled by the [[Confederacy]]. It did, however, free at least 20,000 slaves immediately, and nearly all 4 million slaves (according to the [[1860 United States Census|1860 United States census]]) as the [[Union army]] advanced into Confederate states. Until the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] in 1865, only the states had power to end slavery within their own borders. Lincoln issued the Proclamation as a war measure in his role as [[commander-in-chief]]. The Proclamation made [[emancipation]] a goal of the Civil War. It also weakened efforts within [[England]] and [[France]] to officially recognize the Confederacy. As Union troops advanced into Rebel (Confederate) territory, they freed thousands of slaves per day. Many did not wait, but fled their owners to claim their freedom. Five slave states (the [[Border States]]) had remained loyal to the Union and were not at war with the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]]. The Proclamation also did not apply to [[Tennessee]], nor to areas within [[Virginia]] and [[Louisiana]] which Union forces already controlled. == The Proclamation == The Proclamation was issued in two parts. On September 22, 1862, Lincoln said that in 100 days, he would free all slaves in areas not then under Union control. On January 1, 1863, he named the ten states in which the proclamation would then apply: [[Texas]], [[South Carolina]], [[North Carolina]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Alabama]], [[Mississippi]], [[Arkansas]], Virginia, [[Flo