The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory were to be set free. This executive order was a pivotal moment in the American Civil War, aiming to weaken the Confederacy's economic foundation and shift the war's focus to a moral imperative for freedom and equality. While it did not free all enslaved individuals, the Proclamation provided a framework for gradual emancipation and encouraged the enlistment of African American soldiers in the Union Army. It was a significant step towards the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States.