What was the main outcome of the Emancipation Proclamation?

The primary outcome of the Emancipation Proclamation was that it declared the freedom of enslaved people in Confederate states. Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the proclamation was a strategic military measure aimed at weakening the Confederacy during the Civil War. By declaring that all enslaved individuals in states that were in rebellion against the Union were to be set free, it not only signaled a new direction in the Union's war efforts but also aimed to encourage enslaved individuals to escape and join the Union Army, thus bolstering its forces.

This action also recast the Civil War, framing it as a struggle not just for the Union but also for liberation, which was a pivotal shift in the conflict. The proclamation did not abolish slavery in border states or in areas of the South already under Union control, which is why it did not achieve the total abolition of slavery across the United States. The complete abolition would only come with the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865, and the proclamation's focus was particularly on the southern states in rebellion.