Five days after Antietam, President Lincoln announces that enslaved people in rebelling states will be declared free on January 1, 1863.
At a Glance
- Date
- 22 September 1862
- Location
- Washington, D.C.
- Key people
- Abraham Lincoln
- Category
- Emancipation & Reconstruction
- Source
- Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (1862) · National Archives
What It Meant Then
It put the Union on a path to abolition as a war aim.
What It Means Now
The preliminary proclamation set in motion the formal Emancipation Proclamation.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “Lincoln Issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/lincoln-issues-the-preliminary-emancipation-proclamation/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Lincoln Issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/lincoln-issues-the-preliminary-emancipation-proclamation/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “Lincoln Issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/lincoln-issues-the-preliminary-emancipation-proclamation/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.