During his election campaign and throughout the early years of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln denied the rumor that he would make an attack on the issue of slavery. At the outbreak of Civil War fighting, he pledged to 'restore the Union, but accept slavery where it existed. Over time however, Lincoln changed his views on the issue and finally issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862 after seeing emancipation as a war measure that …showed first 75 words of 659 total…

…showed last 75 words of 659 total…Lincoln to give it. The victory at Antietam as well as the increasing power of abolitionists only buttressed the President's decision to give it. It didn't change much for the slaves since not a single one was freed but it changed the nature of the war from preservation of the Union to liberation of the slaves. Though it was unpopular and divisive, it was a bold and courageous step towards racial equality and Union victory.