What was the purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation?

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, was a pivotal executive order aimed at freeing enslaved individuals in the Confederate states that were in rebellion against the Union during the Civil War. This proclamation specifically declared that all slaves in the states or parts of states that were still in rebellion "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free."

While the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free all enslaved people across the United States, as it did not apply to border states loyal to the Union or areas under Union control, it fundamentally altered the nature of the Civil War. It transformed the war into a struggle for freedom and made the abolition of slavery a central goal of the Union war effort, paving the way for the eventual passage of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery entirely.

The other options do not align with the historical significance of the Emancipation Proclamation. The amendment to grant women the right to vote came much later with the 19th Amendment, the Civil War did not end as a direct result of this proclamation, and minimum wage legislation was not related to this historical document at all. Thus, the primary purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation was