why did the Emancipation Proclamation free slaves only in Confederate states?

A. President Lincoln did not have the authority to remove property from U.S. citizens
B. President Lincoln did not have the authority to naturalize Northen freedmen into citizens.
C. Northen legislatures had already passed legislation blocking emancipation.
D. Northen legislatures had already passed the Emancipation proclamation

Lincoln issued the proclamation under his powers as commander in chief of the US military as an act of war. He had no authority to remove property from people with whom we were not at war.

President Lincoln did not have the authority to remove property from US citizens.

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The correct answer is C. Northen legislatures had already passed legislation blocking emancipation.

To determine the answer, we need to understand the context of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, on January 1, 1863. This executive order aimed to free enslaved people in Confederate states.

However, it is important to note that the Emancipation Proclamation did not technically free all the slaves. While it declared that all slaves in Confederate-held territory were to be set free, it exempted certain areas. It did not free slaves in Union-held areas or in border states that remained loyal to the Union.

So, coming back to the options provided, option A suggests that President Lincoln did not have the authority to remove property from U.S. citizens. Although slaves were considered as property, this is not the reason why the Emancipation Proclamation only applied to Confederate states.

Option B states that President Lincoln did not have the authority to naturalize Northern freedmen into citizens. Naturalization refers to the process of granting citizenship to non-citizens. However, this answer is not correct either because the Emancipation Proclamation did not address the issue of citizenship or naturalization.

Option C, on the other hand, states that Northern legislatures had already passed legislation blocking emancipation. This is the correct answer. Some Northern states had already passed laws declaring African Americans as free, such as the state of Massachusetts with its 1783 Gradual Emancipation Law. As a result, since the Emancipation Proclamation only applied to Confederate states, it did not have jurisdiction in areas that had already abolished slavery.

Lastly, option D states that Northern legislatures had already passed the Emancipation proclamation, which is incorrect. The Emancipation Proclamation was a federal executive order issued by President Lincoln and was not passed by Northern legislatures.

In summary, the Emancipation Proclamation only applied to Confederate states because Northern legislatures had already passed legislation blocking emancipation.