as said by White Devil, mainly states rights...that each state had the right to do what they wanted, pretty much...and what i said before
and the releasing of the slaves doesnt necessarily indicate Lincoln was against slavery...he was more for bringing the south back to the union, which he thought would be obtained by turning the slaves against their masters...that didnt really work though. what really was the key to turning the tide in the war over to the North was the Union blockade of british supplies going to the South. (Britain wanted the South, as payback for the Revolutionary War) it established the might of the US navy.