Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation

United States President, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of the Civil War. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." The Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free the slaves, but it was a big step towards the end of slavery.
By the contents of this Proclamation it would seem that Lincoln fully opposed and sought to end slavery completely, however, in the beginning of his Presidency, Lincoln made it clear to America that he had no intention of ending slavery. In 1858, Lincoln informed American citizens of this by saying, "I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races." However, it is quite apparent that Lincoln's opinion of slavery, and the decision of actions to be taken towards slavery, had...