The Emancipation Proclamation is when Abraham Lincoln signed a document freeing slaves and giving them freedom in all states.

The Emncipation Proclamation came in two executive orders issued by former President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. The first one declared the freedom of all slaves in any of the Confedrte States that didn't return to Union control by January 1, 1863 and was issued September 22, 1862. The second one, which was issued on January 1, 1863, named ten specific states where the document would apply.

The Proclamation went into affect in most Union states and freed at least 20,000 slaves by January 1, 1863. More and more slaves escaped to Union lines and Union armies conquered Confederate states. Approximately all four million slaves were freed by July 1865.



The Emancipation Proclamtion has a lot to do with the American Civil War (1861-1865). The war was between the Union and Confederacy on factors about southern independence and the end of slavery. The war began on April 12, 1861 and ended on May 26, 1865 when the last Confederate army surrendered. The war killed 600,00 people, destroyed property valued at $5 billion,and brought freeom to 4 million slaves.