What did the Emancipation Proclamation achieve?

The Emancipation Proclamation is significant primarily because it declared the freedom of all slaves in Confederate-held territory. Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, it was a pivotal moment in American history, particularly during the Civil War. The proclamation aimed to weaken the Confederacy's war effort by depriving it of its labor force, as enslaved individuals were vital for the Southern economy.

Additionally, the proclamation represented a shift in Lincoln's stance on slavery, framing the Civil War as a struggle for human freedom and allowing for the enlistment of Black soldiers into the Union Army. While it did not immediately free all enslaved people, as it applied only to the states in rebellion and not to border states or areas of the Union, it set the stage for the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States.

The other options are not related to the proclamation's impact. The end of the Civil War came later, the right to vote for women was achieved with the 19th Amendment in 1920, and public education reform occurred in different contexts, neither of which is addressed by the Emancipation Proclamation.