Lincoln needed a new military effort to combat the confederate forces, and so he was indeed eager to take some action of his own against slavery. "For months, he had wanted to free the 3.5 million slaves who were the backbone of the Confederate economy. However, Secretary of State William H. Seward advised that such an act would seem hollow without a military victory showing the North's superior strength."" (Kowalski 20). Lincoln's chance came with the battle of Antietam. The union army had prevented the confederate invasion of Maryland, and although the Union did not pursue the tired confederate army, the battle was viewed as a victory for the North. .
Lincoln promptly issued a preliminary proclamation on September 22, 1862 following the battle. The proclamation stated that all slaves in states still in rebellion by January 1, 1863 shall be free. On January 1, 1863 the president issued the final Emancipation Proclamation which declared all slaves in rebelling states free, with exemptions for forty-eight counties in Virginia that were to become West Virginia, New Orleans, and a few surrounding parishes in Louisiana. For constitutional reasons, the president could not free slaves in parts of the country that were already under Union control. Lincoln had to maintain his position that the proclamation was strictly a military tactic so that the edict remained constitutional. The EP declared all slaves in the ten rebel states free, and indicated that the government will recognize and maintain' their freedom. The document also announced the Union's intention to enlist black men in to their armed forces. Lincoln declared the work as "a necessary measure of war- and used his power as "Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States- (Emancipation Proclamation). Despite its liberation's, the EP was limited in many ways. First of all, it only applied to states that had seceded from the Union, not to the border states.
