Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation

President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, declared that “all persons held as slaves within any States . . . in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." However, the immediate impacts of the Emancipation Proclamation were limited. Explore the timeline below to answer the question - "How did Abraham Lincoln contribute to gaining freedom for enslaved people?"