Final answer:
The Emancipation Proclamation, signed on January 1, 1863, declared slaves in Confederate-controlled areas to be free, changing the aim of the Civil War towards ending slavery. Although it did not free all slaves immediately, it allowed slaves in the South to seek freedom as Union troops advanced, and eroded the institution of slavery in the border states.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Emancipation Proclamation was a historic presidential order issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. On January 1, 1863, the proclamation declared, "all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." This executive order was instrumental in pivoting the war aims of the Union towards ending slavery, but it did not immediately free all enslaved people.
Although the Proclamation did not free slaves in the border states or specific regions under Union control, it fundamentally changed the character of the war. It legally freed slaves in areas under Confederate control, which would be enforceable as the Union army advanced. Furthermore, it paved the way for the eventual abolition of slavery throughout the entire United States
The lives of slaves in the South and in the border states experienced different impacts due to the Proclamation. In the South, although the decree was not immediately enforceable, it emboldened many slaves to seek freedom by escaping to Union lines as Union troops advanced. In the border states, where slavery remained legal, the knowledge that freedom was being granted elsewhere, coupled with the removal of slavery in the Southern states, undermined the institution overall, setting a precedent that would eventually lead to universal emancipation.