Question

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

Answer 1

Answer:

Lincoln believed he had the power to emancipate the slaves in the Southern states because they were in an insurrection. Lincoln considered his emancipation proclamation that came into effect in 1863 as a military measure given his role as commander and chief.  

Explanation:

Lincoln emancipated the slaves because slavery was viewed as an issue falling to each state government in the federal system. Emancipation under Lincoln was first applied in the District of Columbia in 1862 as the states that opposed it had left Congress in 1861.  However, there had been discussions and disagreements on the issues of slavery in Congress for some time and lawmakers were trying to prevent any new adoption of the practice when California joined the Union as a non-slavery state in 1850. The slaves in other parts of the United States were freed by state-level action, or by the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution which was ratified in 1865. Every state was potentially different on this issue essentially, as for example the state of Vermont which had ended slavery in 1777 as an independent state and had no slavery legally sanctioned when it joined the Union in 1791.