Unquestionably, Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation was a tactical decision rather than a humanitarian act. Although many historians have embellished Lincoln's motives, Lincoln was not all that concerned with the humanitarian element .

It is not coincidental that the Emancipation Proclamation was issued shortly after Lee's invasion of the North that had been stopped at the Battle of Antietam. Lee's intention was to prove the strength of the Confederacy and hopefully gain recognition from England and France. Lincoln knew of European aversion to slavery, and by issuing the proclamation, he foreclosed the possibility of European intervention in the war.

It is also not coincidental that the Proclamation only proclaimed slavery in those states in rebellion. Slaves in the "border states" such as Maryland and Delaware were not freed. More telling is the fact that certain counties in Virginia and certain parishes in Louisiana were excepted in the language of the Proclamation; this was because those areas were under Union control.

Interestingly, there is no language in the proclamation that deplores the evils of slavery. One would expect such language if Lincoln's motives were altruistic. So before we place Lincoln on any higher pedestal, we must remember that he was a wartime commander determined to save the Union. The Emancipation Proclamation was an attempt to further cripple the Southern effort and thereby bring the war to a speedier conclusion. An end to slavery forever was not in Lincoln's mind.