[R. Scott]

His abhorrence of slavery knew only one bound—the Constitution, which did not give him the power, under ordinary circumstances, to abolish it. Hence he presented the Emancipation Proclamation as an exercise of his “extraordinary” war power, not as an exercise of a power normally available to the federal government.

Not exactly. The Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave under Union control. It freed only those slaves not under Union control – in other words, it was a piece of propaganda.

[kenavi]

The Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave under Union control. It freed only those slaves not under Union control – in other words, it was a piece of propaganda.

I did not realize that the U.S. reinstated slavery in the South once it was under Union control.