Emancipation had to come gradually, and the important thing to do was to prevent the Southern Rebellion from permanently breaking the Union in two. During the second summer of the Civil War in 1862, thousands of slaves fled the South toward Union lines, and the government had no clear policy on how to deal with this problem. Lincoln saw that emancipation would undermine the Confederacy while providing the Union with a new workforce. The president sent his proposed preliminary emancipation proclamation in July 1862 to his cabinet. William Seward, the secretary of state, advised him to wait until things went better for the Union on the battlefield, otherwise emancipation might seem like the last gasp of a nation on the brink of defeat. Lincoln completely agreed with the advice the secretary had just given him. On September 17, Lincoln had his opportunity after the bloody Battle of Antietam. He addressed the initial proclamation to his cabinet on September 22, and it was issued the next day. As enthusiastic crowds gathered outside the White House, Lincoln spoke to them: “I can only trust in God. I made no mistake… It is now up to the country and the world to judge this. » (“Abraham Lincoln.” Civil War