1. Emancipation
.January 1, 1863

2. Objectives Learn why Lincoln wanted to emancipate the slaves.
Learn the meaning of the document.

3. July 22, 1862
Lincoln meets with his cabinet and decides it is time to change the goal for fighting the war from saving the union to freeing the slaves. Because the war was not going well in the east, Lincoln decided to wait until a Union victory.

4. September 22, 1862
Five days after the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln announced he would emancipate the slaves.

5. January 1, 1863
The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect. It frees all slaves in states “currently in rebellion”. The key line in the proclamation was that beginning January 1, 1863, slaves would be “henceforth and forever free!”.