Freed Slaves
- Another impact of issuing the Emancipation Proclamation was that it allowed Confederate slaves to join the Union army.
- The Emancipation Proclamation authorized the recruitment of freed slaves and free blacks as Union soldiers.
- During the next 2 ½ years, 180,000 freed slaves and free blacks fought in the Union army and 10,000 in the navy, making a vital contribution to Union victory.
- The Emancipation Proclamation thus was a key factor in the Union winning the Civil War, as it enabled hundreds of thousands of freed slaves to join the Union forces.