How could Lincoln free the slaves in the Confederate states before the end of the war? He had no control over them.
“How could Lincoln free the slaves in the Confederate states before the end of the war? He had no control over them”
Is this a serious question? Lincoln’s army was in the process of conquering the South. That’s how. He already had control over a decent portion of the rebellious territory the moment emancipation was proclaimed. Which explains why some 50,000 souls were manumitted immediately. As for the rest, their time would come.
You are trotting out a tired, specious criticism. Since the proclamation is full of the sort of compromises and legalisms that accompany all political acts, it’s easy to parse it. To understand it, you’d have to drudge through all the archaisms of its historical context, which is complicated. So I can understand people being flippant about it.
However, a cursory examination of history would inform them that Lincoln still operated under the authority of Dred Scott, and that no avenue but that open to him as commander in chief was available for action on the slavery issue. Consequently, he couldn’t do anything about slaves within the Union. History would also inform them that Lincoln did control territory in the South as of January ‘63, and that much more of the South would be conquered as the war continued. I’d expect you to know as much, but since it’s apparently slipped by you, I suggest if nothing else doing a quick google search.