"On the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." — Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863
Which statement is best supported by the language of the proclamation?
- A
It freed enslaved people in Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware
- B
It applied uniformly to all enslaved people in the United States
- Ccheck_circle
It freed slaves only in Confederate-controlled areas, not in loyal border states
- D
It depended on ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures
Explanation
The text limits its reach to "States... in rebellion." Loyal slaveholding border states were exempted, as were Union-occupied parts of the Confederacy. No ratification was required; uniform application awaited the Thirteenth Amendment.