How was it possible that Abraham Lincoln, the Union president, could emancipate the slaves in the Confederacy? If Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States, how was it possible that his Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in a different country (the Confederacy)? Wouldn’t that be saying for example, the president of Canada saying all Americans have a right to shoplifting, and all of a sudden, we are allowed to steal from stores? I just don’t get how it’s possible for the President of one country to make one statement that changes the other country. Like how is that possible? Thanks, Eric Answer by Jack PI suspect it’s a rhetorical question. He freed the slaves in areas he didn’t have control. You didn’t ask why, so I won’t explain. You asked how….