Question

What major event was happening when the Emancipation Proclamation was issued?

Answer 1

Here's a quote from a government website. "President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."

Answer 2

The battle at Antietam was a significant moral booster that gave Lincoln confidence to announce the EP. He was unsure how the public would react before that event. Sept 17 was the battle and announcement within days. It officially took effect Jan 1. but they knew it was coming in Sept.