Why did lincolns emancipation proclamation free slaves only in the south?

Answer 1

Because he didn't want to upset powerful slave-owners in the border states, and drive them into the arms of the Confederacy.

Answer 2: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was intended to make a statement that the war was intended to end slavery. There were many factors involved with the cause of the war however, he wanted to focus on ending slavery. He felt this would rally more people behind their cause.

Interesting that the Emancipation Proclamation did not really free any slave when it was signed. If a slave was living in a Southern state then the Proclamation had no effect until the Union army took over control of that area. There were a few examples of people in the Northern states who still owned slaves for a few years after the proclamation was released.

Answer 2

Because he didn't want to upset powerful slave-owners in the border states, and drive them into the arms of the Confederacy.

Answer 2: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was intended to make a statement that the war was intended to end slavery. There were many factors involved with the cause of the war however, he wanted to focus on ending slavery. He felt this would rally more people behind their cause.

Interesting that the Emancipation Proclamation did not really free any slave when it was signed. If a slave was living in a Southern state then the Proclamation had no effect until the Union army took over control of that area. There were a few examples of people in the Northern states who still owned slaves for a few years after the proclamation was released.

Answer 3

Because he had to be diplomatic towards influential slave-owners in the four buffer-states, in case they turned against him and joined the Confederacy.

Note that the Proclamation did not strictly free the Southern slaves. It just gave his troops the wartime power to pillage the farms and free the slaves, on the grounds that slaves were enemy property.