Tuffy's answer is correct however I would add that the Emancipation Proclamation gave Hope to the slaves.
The South did not get help from Great Britain.
I have always wondered if during the American War for Independence - Great Britain had proclaimed that all American Slaves were free. Would that have changed the outcome of our War for Independence?
Did you understand that what Tuffy was saying that the Emancipation Proclamation did not free any slaves? The slaves in the States under Abraham Lincoln were still slaves (border states). The Slaves in the States in Rebellion were not freed by the Emancipation Proclamation because the States in Rebellion were not listening to Lincoln anyway.
Remember Lincoln's # 1 job was to preserve the Union. He said that he would free all, none or some of the Slaves to protect the Union.
The Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg address changed the direction of the Civil War. Now the war was going to end slavery.
M
