Question

5. Why did Lincoln need a military victory before he could announce the emancipation of slaves in southern states?

A. The South might accept emancipation if it looked like the North could win the war.
B. Union soldiers wouldn't support emancipation if they didn't have a winning record.
C. The North didn't have a single victory up until this point.
D. He didn't want the Emancipation Proclamation to look like an act of desperation.

Answer 1

D. He didn't want the Emancipation Proclamation to look like an act of desperation.

It looked great on an international scale too. England and France were looking into backing the south early on. Adding the issue of slavery, in part, made them back off. They didn't want it to look like they were okay with slavery... Even though they were definitely benefiting from it.