Look at the excerpt below, which is taken from the “Emancipation Proclamation” (1863).
That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

The purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation was to
 

Explanation

This is the key phrase in the document: “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” From this, you can eliminate (A) and (B) because you know that the Civil War was going on, and the Southern states were already in rebellion or withdrawn from the Union. The document also declares certain slaves (in states in rebellion) “forever free,” so you can eliminate option (D) in favor of option (C).
 

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