Final answer:
The U.S. president who issued the Emancipation Proclamation was Abraham Lincoln. It declared enslaved people in Confederate states in active rebellion as free, although it initially freed few due to its limited reach.
Step-by-step explanation:
Emancipation Proclamation
The U.S. president who issued the Emancipation Proclamation was Abraham Lincoln. This historic document was signed on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. Contrary to common belief, the proclamation initially freed few enslaved people as it applied only to the Confederate states in active rebellion and did not apply to slaves in border states or Union-controlled areas within the Confederacy. It marked a pivotal step in changing the objectives of the Civil War and setting the stage for the eventual abolition of slavery. Lincoln's proclamation declared that slaves in rebellious states "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free," using his authority as commander-in-chief to frame it as a necessary act for the military success of the Union.