Lincoln cited his Presidential role as chief commander to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. He felt that it was his duty to preserve the Union. He actually issued the Proclamation twice, in September of 1862 and then in January of 1863. At first the war was fought to keep the Union together, and the Proclamation turned the war's purpose to abolish slavery. In this way, Lincoln shifted from politics to a war of morals. He hoped that the Proclamation would turn the tide of the war, which the North was losing early on, by creating a revolt in the South, as the Proclamation was only aimed at the revolting states (the South).