What legal power did he have to free any slaves? At the time Lincoln was operating as a dictator. He was arresting newspaper editors, unlawfully suspending habeas corpus so that his military could show up in the middle of the night and “disappear” people (yes, that happened), and he even deported an Ohio Congressman for opposing his policies. There is also evidence that he contemplated arresting the USC Chief Justice for a ruling against Lincoln’s lawless behavior. So, if Lincoln had wanted, he could have actually freed a lot of slaves, but he didn’t want to. There is one exception, though, the slaves in DC were emancipated.
There is no question that Lincoln wanted slavery to end, but neither before the war, nor during, was he willing to spend much political capital on it.
Well, if you actually read the Emancipation Proclamation, it says right there: " by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion"
So, if Lincoln had wanted, he could have actually freed a lot of slaves, but he didn’t want to.
I always find you Lost Causers funny when you accuse Lincoln of being a dictator, then complain that he wasn't more dictatorial.
There is no question that Lincoln wanted slavery to end, but neither before the war, nor during, was he willing to spend much political capital on it.
And yet, somehow, at the war's end the slaves were free.