The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory were to be forever free. This marked a significant step towards the abolition of slavery in the United States. However, it is important to note that the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free all enslaved people in the nation. It primarily applied to areas under Confederate control during the American Civil War. Slavery was ultimately abolished throughout the entire United States with the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution on December 6, 1865. This amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, effectively ending the institution of slavery in the United States.
