Emancipation Proclamation
Almost from the beginning of his administration, Lincoln was pressured by abolitionists and radical Republicans to issue an Emancipation Proclamation. In principle, Lincoln approved, but he postponed action against slavery until he believed he had wider support from the American Public. The passage of the Second Confiscation Act by Congress on July 17, 1862, which freed the slaves of everyone in rebellion against the government, provided the desired signal. Not only had Congress relieved the Administration of considerable strain with its limited initiative on emancipation, it demonstrated an increasing public abhorrence toward slavery.
Lincoln had already drafted what he termed his "Preliminary Proclamation." He read his initial draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to Secretaries William H. Seward and Gideon Welles on July 13, 1862. For a moment, both Secretaries were speechless. Quickly collecting his thoughts, Seward said something about anarchy in the South and possible foreign intervention, but with Welles apparently too confused to respond, Lincoln let the matter drop.
On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. Signed and issued by Abraham Lincoln, it declared free all slaves living in the confederate states, which were rebelling against the federal government at the time. The proclamation did not change the situation with the Confederacy. Confederate leaders criticized and ignored it. It did not cover the border states: the President had failed in his attempt to persuade them to accept even a gradual process of emancipation. Slaves were freed slowly until 1865 when the Civil War ended and the 13th amendment, abolishing slavery, was ratified.