…the fact or process of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions; liberation…
…the granting of full political and civil liberties to Roman Catholics in Britain and Ireland. This was effected by the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, which repealed restrictive laws, including that which barred Catholics from holding public office…
…(in the American Civil War) the announcement made by President Lincoln on 22 September 1862 emancipating all black slaves in states still engaged in rebellion against the Federal Union. Although implementation was strictly beyond Lincoln’s powers, the declaration turned the war into a crusade against slavery…
