Final answer:
The Emancipation Proclamation declared that slaves in rebellious Confederate states were free, refocused the Civil War to include abolishing slavery as a goal, and authorized the recruitment of Black soldiers to the Union Army.
Step-by-step explanation:
Three Key Aspects of the Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, did three primary things
Declared that all persons held as slaves in the Confederate states in rebellion against the United States "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free," but it did not free slaves in the border states or Union-occupied territories.
Reframed the Civil War to include the abolition of slavery as an official war goal, alongside the goal of preserving the Union.
Authorized the enlistment of Black soldiers into the Union Army, which added nearly 200,000 troops to the Union's cause and helped shift the tide of the war.
While the Emancipation Proclamation's immediate effect on slavery was limited since it did not free all slaves in the United States, it represented a significant policy shift and paved the way for future legal actions, such as the Thirteenth Amendment, which officially outlawed slavery throughout the country.