Read the following paragraph...
“On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued the first version of his Emancipation Proclamation. It declared that all slaves in the breakaway Southern states would be emancipated, or freed, on January 1, 1863. At the time, the Civil War had been raging for 17 months. Slavery still existed across the South.”
Which word from the paragraph helps the reader to understand the meaning of "Proclamation"?
A. declared
B. freed
C. version
D. raging