At the start of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln’s main goal was to keep the Union together. As the war continued, ending slavery became another important goal. On September 22, 1862, Lincoln told the Confederate states he would free enslaved people in areas still battling the Union.
On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared enslaved people free in areas of the Confederacy that were still fighting the Union. However, it did not apply to states still in the Union or to areas of the Confederacy under Union control. This meant that the proclamation did not end slavery everywhere in the country.
The Emancipation Proclamation changed the war's purpose. The Union was now fighting to keep the country united and to end slavery in the Confederacy. The proclamation also allowed Black men to serve in the Union Army and Navy. By the end of the war, nearly 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors had served the Union.
The Emancipation Proclamation was an important step toward ending slavery. However, it did not end slavery throughout the country. That happened in 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.