es were eager to get out of their chains and fight for the North. Without emancipation the Civil War wouldn’t mean enough. The reason for the Southern States’ secession in the first place was slavery. Lincoln thought that even if the Union was reunited there would be another war over slavery. However, he questioned his own authority to abolish slavery. When Lincoln was inaugurated he said he did not have the right to emancipate. However, as a wartime measure he felt he did have the power to do so. So, Lincoln devised a plan to crush slavery in the rebel states but preserve the loyalty of the Union slave states. His plan was called the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation said all slaves were “then, thenceforward, and forever free” on the first of January 1863. Lincoln then planned to gradually emancipate slavery in the loyal states. However, the Union had not had a victory in a long time. Lincoln felt that if the proclamation were released then it would seem like an act of desperation. So, he awaited a decisive military victory by the North. In July the Union was whipped once again at the second battle of Bull Run. However, at the Battle of Antietam McClellan tried to repel Lee in Maryland while he was advancing to Philadelphia. He was successful and on September 17, 1862 Lee retreated back to Virginia. The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest battle yet in the Civil War. It was the victory Lincoln had been waiting for. Five days later, on the twenty-third of September, Lincoln released the Emancipation Proclamation to the...
