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He did not actually free any slaves by means of the Proclamation, since he carried no authority in the South. And the reason he did not demand abolition in the border-states was because he did not want to upset the people of those states and drive them into the arms of the Confederacy.

The real meaning of the Proclamation was rather oblique. Lincoln's real aim was to make the war look like a crusade against slavery, to make it ethically impossible for Britain and France to grant recognition without looking pro-slavery themselves.

In this, it was totally successful.

As for Northern troops suddenly feeling like virtuous crusaders, this did not happen on any noticeable scale.

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Q: Why did Lincoln only free slaves behind confederate lines?
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Last person that answered this question: Dont answer questions that you ont know the answer to okay!The answer is.........Basically,a piece of paper saying that everyone has equal right ,whites,blacks,Mexicans..ect..The Emancipation Proclamation was only Propaganda to discourage European powers from assisting the Confederacy. It free no slaves. It improved nobody's rights. It explicitly did not free slaves in Union states (Lincoln did not want to risk them seceding too) and implicitly did not free slaves in Confederate states, as the Union had no power there.


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