One hundred fifty years ago, Abraham Lincoln emancipated the slaves. Just how he got there might surprise you. After Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and slowly but surely transformed the scale and meaning of the Civil War, most Americans then understood what the President had done better than most Americans do now. Those who hated and opposed any emancipation doubted the enactment’s long-term constitutionality and accused the President of launching a “social revolution” with dire consequences for race relations and the South’s way of life. For those favoring emancipation, some argued that it was a long-delayed act of national morality, while many more said it was the best way to weaken Southern society, destroy the Confederacy, and therefore win the war. They were all right...
http://www.democracyjournal.org/28/lincoln-the-emancipator.php?page=all