In 1861 , President Abraham Lincoln firmly believed that a state did not have that right. And he declared war on the southern states that tried to leave. By summer of 1862, Union troops had not won a decisive victory in Virginia, the heart of the Confederacy. And the war was losing support with politicians and the public in the north. Finally, in September 1862,The Union successfullystopped the Confederate invasion of Maryland. Thearmies of Union general George Mc Clellan and Confederate general Robert E.
On September 22, 1862, Lincoln announced a new policy on slavery in the rebel southern states. His announcement became known as the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in states held by the Confederates. For political reasons, the proclamation did not free slaves in the states that supported the Union. But Southern newspapers accused the president of trying to create a slave rebellion in states he could not occupy with troops.
In the North, most people cheered the new policy. The Emancipation Proclamation changed the nature of the Civil War. No longer was it a struggle over southern rights. Now it was a struggle for human freedom.