President Lincoln refrained from taking action to emancipate slaves until the Civil War had been in progress for almost two years because

Question

a
Congress had not granted him the authority
b
he was preparing a plan to send all of the slaves to Liberia
c
slavery still existed in most Northern states
d
he sought to retain the loyalty of the border states

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

d. he sought to retain the loyalty of the border states.

President Lincoln was cautious about taking action on emancipation early in the Civil War because he wanted to maintain the loyalty of the border states (slave states that remained in the Union) and prevent them from seceding. He believed that a premature move towards emancipation could alienate these states and jeopardize the Union war effort.