America 250: Presidential Message on the Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It declared that all enslaved people in the states or parts of states then "in rebellion against the United States" were "then, thenceforward, and forever free," and that the U.S. government and its military would recognize and maintain their freedom. It did not immediately free all enslaved people: it applied only in the Confederate (rebellious) areas not under Union control, and did not cover the loyal slaveholding border states or certain Union‑occupied regions. As Union armies advanced, however, it practically freed millions of enslaved people in the South and turned the Civil War into a war for abolition as well as for Union.

In the final Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln formally designated the following as the states (or parts of states) "in rebellion" to which the proclamation applied:

• Arkansas
• Texas
• Louisiana, except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans (including the city of New Orleans)
• Mississippi
• Alabama
• Florida
• Georgia
• South Carolina
• North Carolina
• Virginia, except the 48 counties that became West Virginia and the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and Norfolk (including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth).

These listed areas were what the proclamation meant by the "rebellious states."

It is described as a "military decree" because Lincoln explicitly issued it under his powers as Commander‑in‑Chief during an armed rebellion, calling it "a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion." The proclamation aimed to weaken the Confederacy by:

• Stripping it of enslaved labor that supported its war effort
• Encouraging enslaved people in rebel areas to seek freedom behind Union lines
• Allowing Black men to enlist in the Union Army and Navy, bolstering Union manpower

Because it was framed as a wartime, strategic step to help win the Civil War rather than as a general domestic law, historians and the National Archives describe it as a military or war measure.

The Emancipation Proclamation led toward the Thirteenth Amendment in two main ways:

1. Legal limits of the Proclamation: Because it was issued as a wartime military measure, it applied only to areas in rebellion and left slavery intact in loyal border states and some Union‑controlled Southern areas. Its long‑term legality after the war was uncertain. This pushed Lincoln and Congress to seek a permanent constitutional solution that would abolish slavery everywhere in the United States.
2. Political and moral shift: The Proclamation turned the Civil War into a war for freedom as well as union, rallied antislavery sentiment, and normalized Black enlistment in the Union forces. This shift in public opinion and wartime politics made it possible to secure enough support in Congress and the states to pass and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, which finally outlawed slavery nationwide.

"America 250" is the federal and White House initiative to commemorate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence in 2026. The White House’s "America 250" page describes it as a Salute to America 250 Task Force effort to plan a year‑long series of events and educational projects (from Memorial Day 2025 through July 4, 2026) marking the nation’s semiquincentennial and promoting engagement with American history. It works alongside the broader national America250/United States Semiquincentennial Commission effort created by Congress.

The message is an official White House "Presidential Message" issued under President Donald J. Trump on January 1, 2026. The page appears on the Trump‑era White House site (whose navigation lists "President Donald J. Trump" and his administration) and is published in the White House "Briefings & Statements" section as a presidential communication.