President Abraham Lincoln issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

11 May President Abraham Lincoln issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

Days after the bloody battle at Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland, President Abraham Lincoln issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation announcing his intention to free the enslaved people held by the Confederacy on January 1, 1863. This measure was undertaken as a strategic step intended to encourage the end of the conflict.