Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This executive order declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory during the American Civil War. The proclamation was a pivotal moment in American history, signaling a shift in the war's purpose to include the fight against slavery alongside the preservation of the Union. Although it did not immediately free all enslaved individuals, it authorized the recruitment of African American soldiers into the Union Army and changed the character of the war. It also paved the way for the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States.