Even before the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves could escape slavery within the lines of the U.S. Army, but they were not exactly free. In a transcription January 1, 1863, by the President of the United States of America at the time Abraham Lincoln. The Emancipation Proclamation was a way for Lincoln to keep the union together. It was a turning point in American history because it allowed African Americans to enroll in the union army, it freed many of the slaves living in the south, and it set a pathway for Civil Rights activists in the 20th century.
The proclamation was directed to all the areas in rebellion and all segments of the executive branch of the United States. It proclaimed of all the ten states of the rebellion. The Southern states affected by the Emancipation Proclamation included South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, and Arkansas. The states not affected included Maryland, Missouri, Delaware, and Kentucky.
Prior to the Proclamation, in accordance with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, escaped slaves where either returned to their masters or held in camp for contraband for a later return. The Proclamation was only applied to the slaves of Confederate-held lands. On September 22,1862, Lincoln issued preliminary warning that he would order the emancipation of all slaves in the states that didn’t end their rebellion against the Union by January 1,1863. None of the Confederate states did so, Lincoln order was signed and took effect January 1, 1863. It led the man slaves escaping from their masters and get the Union lines to obtain their freedoms, and to join the Union Army.
On January 1, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which included nothing about gradual emancipation, compensation for slaveholders or black emigration and colonization a policy. Lincoln justified emancipation as a wartime measure Exempt from the proclamation were the four border slave states of three Confederate states controlled by the Union Army.
Finally, the Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for the permanent abolition of slavery in the United States. As Lincoln and his allies in Congress realized emancipation would have no constitutional basis after the war ended. They soon began working to enact a Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. By the end of January 1865, both houses of Congress had passed the 13th Amendment, and it was ratified that December.