With this proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln freed slaves living in territories in rebellion against the U.S. government. Slavery was not constitutionally ended until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. President Lincoln’s act did, however, broaden his goals for the Civil War beyond the preservation of the Union to include freedom for all.

To read the text of the Emancipation proclamation and other documents important to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government, visit the Avalon Project at Yale Law School

Contact information:
William C. Fray

The Yale Law School
The Avalon Project
127 Wall St.
New Haven CT, 06520
To read the Proclamation, click: The Emancipation Proclamation