What did the Emancipation Proclamation achieve?

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, primarily aimed to free enslaved individuals in the Confederate states. This executive order was a crucial turning point in the Civil War, redefining the conflict's purpose to not only preserve the Union but also to end slavery. It declared that all enslaved people in the states and parts of the states that were in rebellion against the United States would be forever free.

This measure did not grant immediate freedom to all enslaved people across the entire nation or provide them with citizenship rights, which is why full citizenship or tangible benefits such as land were not part of the Proclamation's achievements. It also did not end the Civil War immediately; the conflict continued for two more years after the issuance of the Proclamation. Thus, the correct understanding of the Emancipation Proclamation is that it primarily targeted enslaved people in the Confederate territories, marking a significant step toward abolition and altering the moral and political landscape of the nation.