Fundamental to Lincoln's argument was his conviction that slavery must be dealt with as a moral wrong. It violated the statement in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, and it ran counter to the intentions of the Founding Fathers.
Lincoln did not believe he, as the president, had the power under the Constitution to abolish slavery where it already existed. Nor did he want to anger the four slave states that remained in the Union. ... It freed all slaves in rebelling states.
