Why did the proclamation not actually free any slaves?

I assume you mean the proclamation Abraham Lincoln made in 1862.

It did free a few slaves, those who had runaway and were in holding camps by the Yankee army. But the proclamation "freed" slaves in the area that were not held by the North, so it had little effect at the time of the proclamation.

1 answer

It freed slaves in the south but not the North because Lincoln didn't actually care about Americans having slaves he just wanted more fighters for a war he was loosing. So blacks went north to fight for the Union.even though they would soon find out that you would still be a slave in the north just not the south.