The significance of the Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War lies in its role as a pivotal move towards ending slavery in the United States. Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the proclamation declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory were to be freed. While it did not immediately free any enslaved people, it symbolically shifted the war's focus to the issue of slavery and allowed for the enlistment of Black soldiers into the Union Army. This bold action changed the moral and political landscape of the war, helping to lay the groundwork for the eventual abolition of slavery with the 13th Amendment.