The significant event marked by the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation was the abolition of slavery in the United States. Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the proclamation declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory were to be freed. While it did not immediately free all enslaved individuals, it was a crucial turning point in the Civil War, adding a moral imperative to the Union's cause and allowing for the recruitment of African American soldiers into the Union Army. The Proclamation set the stage for the eventual passage of the 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery.