Emantsipatsioonikuulutus

The Emantsipatsioonikuulutus, or Emancipation Proclamation, was a presidential proclamation and order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. It declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate states, in rebellion against the Union, were to be freed. The proclamation did not immediately free all enslaved people; it was strategically limited to those in states that had seceded.

Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, following the Union's strategic victory at the Battle of Antietam. The final proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had several significant effects. It shifted the focus of the Civil War from preserving the Union to also ending slavery, a moral cause that garnered more international support for the Union. It also allowed for the enlistment of African American soldiers into the Union Army and Navy, providing a crucial boost to Union manpower.

While not abolishing slavery entirely, as it did not apply to border states loyal to the Union or to Confederate territories already under Union control, it fundamentally altered the legal status of millions of enslaved individuals and paved the way for the eventual abolition of slavery throughout the United States with the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865. The Emancipation Proclamation is considered one of the most significant turning points in American history and a landmark document in the fight for human rights.