[BroJoeK]

DiogenesLamp: "Lincoln didn't ORDER the slaves freed in areas under which he had control.
He did order them freed in the South, which was clearly contrary to constitutional law if you operate under the claim that the Southern States were still part of the Union."

As always, DiogenesLamp misstates the facts.
In fact, Lincoln ordered emancipation of slaves in states & regions in rebellion against the United States.
Emancipation was declared under the President's authority to suppress rebellion, "as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion".[21] , in Lincoln's words.

[DiogenesLamp]

In fact, Lincoln ordered emancipation of slaves in states & regions in rebellion against the United States.

And once again, he cannot legally do that. The constitution requires the laws of the states that hold them to be obeyed. It doesn't give him an "except in the case of rebellion" card to play.

If the states are part of the Union, the constitution must be obeyed regarding them. The only out is to declare them not part of the Union, and therefore constitutional law won't apply to them.

But as i've said, the status of southern states was maintained in a condition of quantum super position, being both in the Union and Out of it simultaneously, depending upon what legal argument needed to be made to do what Lincoln wanted.