Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

On September 22, 1862, five days after the Battle of Antietam, President Abraham Lincoln declared Union support for the freedom of slaves in states still in rebellion at the start of the following year. The announcement marked a shift in the North's military policy and made the Civil War a war between slavery and freedom. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.