I think a few here is fond of the old Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but looking into the actions that he did during the years into the prelude of World War 2 was really interesting. At his behest, he supplied Joseph Stalin and the whole Soviet Union of military equipment and intelligence to prepare for the Nazis. I really don't think that Americans during at the time was on board with supplying another enemy, the communists, with their own handmade products just to hold off the Reich.
Let's not get started with the internment camps he did against Americans of Japanese lineage after the Pearl Harbor attacks, how the Democrats were tight-lipped about it to this day, and the communist project that the former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt did in Arthurdale, Virginia, that was still left untold on how many people died due to starvation on that god forsaken experiment of hers.
The Emancipation Proclamation was a military move, not a humanitarian one. Lord Dunmore and Admiral Cochrane both used similar proclamations during the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812, respectively. Lincoln just had the added complexity of assuaging Loyalist states.
Honestly, it was a complete disaster, from a humanitarian perspective. The Union columns had no ability or interest in helping these "freed" slaves, and it's estimated a quarter of them died of starvation and disease. But it did help sow chaos into southern states, both economically and socially, so it accomplished it's purpose.
As to his views on it, he seemed mostly Jeffersonian. On one hand, slavery was unnatural and wrong, but on the other, whites and blacks could not coexist on the same functional level.
Still can't. They should be sent back to their natural habitat, and left to live as they will.
It was justified as a military necessity, as POTUS does not have the power to free slaves as a 'humanitarian move'. But only someone completely unfamiliar with Lincoln's long record of opposition to slavery could be fooled by that - and his subsequent support for abolition.
Until very late in his life, yes.
He did have the power to provision his military to be able to assist with the humanitarian crisis he created, though. It wasn't just "justified", it was the only purpose. Foment rebellion, decrease productivity, and inspire fear.
Which is completely logical. He may have had the raw resources and manpower, but he fought a far more determined enemy. It was a good play.
As I said, only someone wholly unfamiliar with Lincoln's public and private statements over the years would think that Lincoln did not care about slavery. He flip-flopped on secession (having supported it in 1848), but one thing he never changed his mind on was slavery.
Fair enough, but just because a personal view coincided with a viable military advantage, should not be construed to mean he did it to free slaves, when there are far more compelling military arguments. At the very least, we should be able to agree that his concern for the well-being of freed southern slaves was near non-existent.