What did the emanci pation proclamation state?

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declared that all enslaved people in Confederate states were to be set free. It aimed to weaken the Confederacy's war effort by undermining its labor force and was a significant step toward the abolition of slavery in the United States. However, it did not apply to slave-holding border states or areas already under Union control. The proclamation also allowed for the enlistment of African American soldiers in the Union Army, further contributing to the war effort.