[XRdsRev]

Perhaps you ought to study a little bit more before you make assumptions. The Lincoln administration was working on plans to free slaves in Delaware as early as the late summer of 1861 and had hoped to expand that program to other states. They formulated a plan that would have compensated every slaveholder for their freed chattel. The plan wasn't implemented because the method of funding missed being passed by one vote.

Lincoln clearly believed slavery was wrong and evil. Anybody who has ever made a serious study of his pre-war writings and speeches knows this.

[squidly]

Lincoln clearly believed slavery was wrong and evil. Anybody who has ever made a serious study of his pre-war writings and speeches knows this.

So how come he didn't just issue the Emancipation Proclamation upon taking office, or upon the outset of the war? It doesn't appear to me that it was such a high priority for him.