Why did Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation as a military order?

Answer 1

The Emancipation Proclamation was NOT issued as a military order. If it were, it would hold no power in any event, as Lincoln had no authority over the Confederacy when it was issued, as the Confederacy had its' own President. It was a Presidential Proclamation and when issued on 1 January 1863, was more of a "political move" than anything else.

Answer 2

Because what he was doing wasn't actually legal. He couldn't just declare the slaves to be free - they were, under law, property, and the Constitution forbids the government to deny citizens of their property. For the Confederacy, he had a loophole. The seceding states weren't really part of the United States anymore, so he could deprive them of property as much as he wanted, but if he made a law freeing the slaves in the South, that would be tantamount to admitting the South was still part of the US, which would mean that the law wouldn't be valid anyway. So. He issued it as a military order. It didn't really do much. The Southerners, of course, ignored it. It inspired some slaves to escape to the North, but they were doing that anyway. What it DID do was change the Civil War from a war against secession to a war against slavery. Europe didn't care if the South seceded. But Europe was vehmently anti-slavery, and once the North declared it was fighting, not only for Union, but to free the slaves, it had Europe solidly on its side. Also, it roused the interest of American abolitionists, who started participating in the war effort.

Answer 3

To issue the Proclamation when the war was going badly for the Union would look like an act of desperation