Emancipation Proclamation

American  

[ih-man-suh-pey-shuhn prok-luh-mey-shuhn] / ɪˈmæn səˌpeɪ ʃən ˈprɒk ləˌmeɪ ʃən /

noun

U.S. History.

1. the proclamation issued by President Lincoln on September 22, 1862, that freed the people held as slaves in those territories still in rebellion against the Union from January 1, 1863, forward.

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Emancipation Proclamation Cultural  

1. A proclamation made by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that all slaves under the Confederacy were from then on “forever free.”

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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 ]

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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

See Examples For:

Emancipation Proclamation

The people of South Memphis have suffered through years of pollution from factories in Boxtown, founded by freed slaves after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

The majority of both white and Black respondents, associated it with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which was declared two and a half years before Juneteenth.

From Salon ● 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

I recalled that the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued in 1863.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover