While Pres. Lincoln was writing the 'Proclamation' one must also recall that the northern states practiced and did for many more years the use of children in sweat shops...along with women being locked inside unvented buildings for 12-14 hours per day. These children and women worked for pennys under the worst of conditions. No it wasn't the slavery issue when it came to Lincoln....it was the re-unification of the union. I had two grandfathers and more uncles who fought....none owned slaves. It was the issue of states rights and preservation of an individual's rights. Joyce Gaston Reece