On this day in history, January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued an executive order known as the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln issued the proclamation as Commander-In-Chief during the Civil War.
The order applied to all southern states but excluded Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee because some were still loyal to the Union, and some were already under Union control.
One of the immediate consequences was a sudden rise in recruitment of black soldiers from the north and mid-west. The proclamation also stated that former slaves could join the Union Army. By the end of the war, over 200,000 blacks joined the Union military.
About 50,000 slaves were freed immediately after the proclamation. The remaining 3.1 million were freed during the course of the war.
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