Views on the Emancipation Proclamation

Taney, as an influential Speaker of the House, opposed the president on the Emancipation Proclamation, whereas Lincoln used it to abolish slavery in the United States.

Taney argued that the president lacked the constitutional authority to issue the proclamation, whereas Lincoln justified it as a necessary measure to preserve the Union.

Taney believed the president should free all enslaved people, whereas Lincoln wanted to free only enslaved people in the North because he felt the South was not ready.

Taney believed the president should free all enslaved people, whereas Lincoln sought to free enslaved people in the South as a means of combating resistance.