What was the immediate effect of the Emancipation Proclamation?

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate states were to be set free. This meant that the immediate effect of the proclamation was the liberation of enslaved individuals in the areas that were in rebellion against the Union. It was a strategic war measure designed to undermine the Confederate war effort, as it aimed to weaken the economic foundation of the Southern states by freeing the labor force that supported their agricultural economy.

While the Proclamation did not free enslaved people in the border states or in areas of the Confederacy that were already under Union control, it marked a significant turning point in the Civil War by making the fight against slavery a central goal of the Union's military strategy. This approach not only sought to weaken the Confederate states but also aimed to encourage enslaved people to escape to Union lines, thus further destabilizing the Southern economy and adding to the Union's manpower.

The other options reflect misunderstandings of the scope and impact of the Emancipation Proclamation. For instance, it did not grant freedom to all enslaved people in the United States or extend the right to vote to freed slaves, and it certainly did not aim to unite the Northern