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But with the victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln brought out an idea which he read before his cabinet, that slaves held in the Confederate States were declared to be free.  He would declare it formally with his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  Although it did not include those areas under Union control, and officially it was a war measure, it had a great deal of significance as a symbol, and European countries who had toyed with the idea of recognizing the Confederacy abandoned it and supported the Union.

But with the victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln brought out an idea which he read before his cabinet, that slaves held in the Confederate States were declared to be free.  He would declare it formally with his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.  Although it did not include those areas under Union control, and officially it was a war measure, it had a great deal of significance as a symbol, and European countries who had toyed with the idea of recognizing the Confederacy abandoned it and supported the Union.

Feeling also that at war’s end the freed slaves would be put back, as the Proclamation was not constitutional, Lincoln had done something else: he drafted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which stated slavery was illegal except for crimes committed.  He also urged the Republican Party to add the proposed amendment as a plank to the 1864 presidential campaign, stating slavery was the cause of the war, and that the Proclamation had aimed “a death blow at this gigantic evil;” only by a constitutional amendment could slavery be rendered extinct.  After the election, Lincoln did not wait for the new Congress.  He got the two-thirds needed for ratification before the year was over, and rejoiced when his state of Illinois led the way.

Lincoln also felt that the freed slaves would be put back in chains at war's end, as the Proclamation itself was not constitutional.  But Lincoln was prepared for something else: he drafted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which stated slavery was illegal except for crimes committed.  He also urged the Republican Party to add the proposed amendment as a plank to the 1864 presidential campaign, stating slavery was the cause of the war, and that the Proclamation had aimed “a death blow at this gigantic evil;” only by a constitutional amendment could slavery be rendered extinct.  After the election, Lincoln did not wait for the new Congress.  He got the two-thirds needed for ratification before the year was over, and rejoiced when his state of Illinois led the way.

==Politics in war==

==Politics in war==