When President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 after a Union victory in Antietam, this action freed all enslaved within the Confederacy. This in effect, changed the goal of the war to not only preserve the Union, but also to end slavery. It went from a political war to a moral war. Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation, escaped slaves supported the Union effort as cooks, laundresses, and laborers. The Union was not fairing to well until the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. This allows now freed slaves to enlist in the Union Army and fight for their liberation. This was key to the Union victory since they were extremely short on man-power, and it