President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This pivotal executive order declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate states that were in rebellion against the Union during the American Civil War. While the Proclamation did not immediately free any enslaved individuals, it marked a turning point in the war, transforming the conflict's purpose to include the abolition of slavery. It also allowed for the recruitment of African American soldiers into the Union Army. The Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for the eventual legal end of slavery in the United States with the 13th Amendment.