Emancipation Proclamation
Americannoun
Usage
What was the Emancipation Proclamation? The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by US President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War that ordered the freeing of enslaved peoples in Confederate states not yet captured by Union forces. How is Emancipation Proclamation pronounced?[ ih-man-suh-pey-shuhn prok-luh-mey-shuhn ]
Discover More
In itself, the Emancipation Proclamation did not free any slaves, because it applied only to rebellious areas that the federal government did not then control. It did not affect the four slave states that stayed in the Union: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri. Yet when people say that Lincoln “freed the slaves,” they are referring to the Emancipation Proclamation.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was subsequently used by Abraham Lincoln and his family, and he was said to have written the Emancipation Proclamation there.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2026
While President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, the proclamation didn’t apply to border states loyal to the Union.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Not every enslaved person actually gained their freedom after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
Soskin’s great-grandmother, Leontine Breaux Allen, was born into slavery in Louisiana and freed by the Emancipation Proclamation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
