What forced Abraham Lincoln to delay his Emancipation Proclamation speech?

Question

Was he waiting for the Union to win the Battle at Antitem?

Answer 1

he felt that he needed a Union victory on the battlefield so it would not look like a desperate effort.

Answer 2

Lincoln felt the whole government would fall apart if he gave his speech too soon. His timing of the Emancipation Proclamation helped eliminate the support that slavery gave to the southern war effort.

Answer 3

Lincoln's initial goal was to always preserve and reunite the Union. Here is a quote he made in response to criticism about how slow it seemed for him to sign the Proclamation:

Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862
"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that."

Doesn't exactly sound like the Lincoln we were taught about does it.

Answer 4

He needed a victory in the field so his emancipation wouldn't look weak. Also, he deliberately went slow on emancipation and related issues as a strategy of helping the conservatives "come up to speed" with his ideas.

Answer 5

He was waiting for any Union victory - not necessarily Antietam.

Answer 6

He wanted to punish Southerners for just a little longer !