The reason why Lincoln needed a military victory was to
prove that his government had the power to enforce this law. Without a military victory, it would not be
applied to the states where slavery is being practiced making useless. Secretary of State William Seward also
advised the President that it would be best to issue the Proclamation after a
military victory. When the Union army
drove back the Confederate forces commanded by General Robert E. Lee at the
Battle of Antietam, it was the victory that Lincoln needed to issue the
Emancipation Proclamation.
