The Emancipation Proclamation

The executive order issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War that declared enslaved people in Confederate-held territory to be free, though in practice it freed relatively few people initially since it did not apply to border states or areas under Union control.

Claims that use this term

• The Emancipation Proclamation freed only 50,000 people while over 2 million stayed enslaved.
• The Emancipation Proclamation freed fewer than 200,000 people while over four million remained enslaved.