What was the purpose of the emancipation proclaimation was to?

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, aimed to free enslaved people in the Confederate states as a strategic measure during the Civil War. Its purpose was to weaken the Confederacy's war effort, bolster the Union Army by allowing Black men to enlist, and shift the focus of the war to include the fight against slavery. While it did not immediately free all enslaved individuals, it was a significant step toward the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States.