And why didn’t Lincoln apply his emancipation order to the slaves in the North?
Slavery in the United States lasted longer than in the Confederacy.
Because an obscure little document called the Constitution prevented it.
Slavery in the United States lasted longer than in the Confederacy.
True. It ended in the Confederacy on January 1, 1862 and in the U.S. in December 1865 once the 13th Amendment was ratified.
Because Lincoln had no constitutional authority to abolish slavery in the north. He did, however, have constitutional authority to treat slaves as “contraband of war” after congress passed the confiscation acts in 1861 and 1862. The second act stated slaves of civilian and military rebels “shall be forever free.”
Lincoln did lobby hard to get the amendment banning slavery passed, and even signed it, which was not required by the constitution.