Why do historians call the emancipation proclamation a symbolic statement?

Historians often refer to the Emancipation Proclamation as a symbolic statement because, while it declared the freedom of enslaved people in the Confederate states, it did not immediately free any slaves or apply to border states loyal to the Union. Its primary purpose was to shift the focus of the Civil War towards the moral imperative of abolition, thereby strengthening the Union's cause and discouraging support for the Confederacy. Additionally, it set the stage for the eventual passage of the 13th Amendment, which would legally abolish slavery in the United States. Thus, its significance lies more in its political and social implications than in its immediate practical effects.