What step did lincoln announce after the battle of antietam?

Lincoln issued the first Emancipation Proclamation shortly after the Battle of Antietam. It would take effect January 1, 1863.

This did not effect any European power from formal recognition. least of all the world's most powerful empire with millions of "Native Peoples " under their control. One can call it forced labor. The British had already given the Confederacy "de facto " recognition as it had a constitution, a government and an army.