Which battle in 1862 led to the writing of the Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln?

The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, holds significance as it was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history and marked a crucial turning point in the Civil War. Following the battle, the Union army's strategic victory provided President Abraham Lincoln with the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Lincoln had been contemplating the proclamation to free enslaved individuals in the Confederate states as a strategic measure to weaken the Confederacy and turn the war into a fight against slavery. The Union's success at Antietam gave him the political leverage needed to announce the proclamation without appearing desperate; it shifted the focus of the war towards the moral cause of ending slavery alongside the aim of preserving the Union.

This context shows how the outcomes of military engagements like Antietam can influence political decisions significantly, intertwining the fates of warfare and civil rights. Other battles mentioned, such as Gettysburg and Bull Run, occurred later or did not present Lincoln with the same opportunity or justification to announce such a revolutionary policy towards emancipation.