The executive order by President Lincoln changed the federal legal status of upwards of three million slaves in the South from slave to a free citizen. It was directed to all areas in rebellion and all segments of the executive branch. It also ordered that freedmen could be enrolled into the paid services of the US Forces.
The proclamation hurt the South by not compensating slave owners for their property and gave hope to slaves that if they got to the front lines of the Union army, that they could be free. The proclamation, on the other