Which document is associated with Abraham Lincoln's efforts to end slavery?

The Emancipation Proclamation is the document directly associated with Abraham Lincoln's efforts to end slavery in the United States. Issued on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War, this executive order declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory would be set free. This action represented a significant turning point in the war, as it aimed not only to weaken the Confederacy's ability to sustain itself through forced labor but also to alter the moral and political dynamics surrounding the conflict by positioning the abolition of slavery as a Union war goal.

The other documents mentioned, while significant in American history, do not specifically relate to Lincoln's efforts to end slavery. The Declaration of Independence outlines the philosophical foundation for the nation's founding but was written in 1776, long before the Civil War. The Constitution, established in 1787, did address slavery indirectly and contained compromises that allowed slavery to continue. The Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791, serves to protect individual liberties but did not address the issue of slavery either. Thus, the Emancipation Proclamation stands out as the key document linked to Lincoln's direct actions toward abolishing slavery.