Which action declared freedom for enslaved people in Confederate-held territories during the Civil War?

• A. Fugitive Slave Act
• B. Thirteenth Amendment
• C. Fourteenth Amendment
• D. Emancipation Proclamation

Answer: (D)

The action in question is the Emancipation Proclamation. It was issued by the president during the Civil War and declared that enslaved people in the Confederate-held territories were to be freed. This reframed the war’s purpose to include abolition and allowed newly freed African Americans to join the Union Army, which helped shift momentum in favor of abolition.

This choice is the best match because it specifically targets enslaved people in areas in rebellion at the time, whereas the other options don’t fit that wartime declaration: the Fugitive Slave Act was an earlier law forcing the return of escaped enslaved people, not declaring freedom; the Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery nationwide after the war; and the Fourteenth Amendment addresses citizenship and equal protection, not emancipation.