Social Studies - President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared free only those slaves who

President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared free only those slaves who 

(A) were living in the areas still in rebellion 

(B) were serving in the Union armies 

(C) were living in the border states 

(D) had escaped to Northern states

Answer: 

Option (A) is correct. 

The Emancipation Proclamation freed only those slaves who were living in the states or parts of states still in rebellion. Lincoln feared that complete emancipation would cost the Union the loyalty of the border states (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware), slave states that remained loyal to the Union. Moreover, President Abraham Lincoln did not believe he had the constitutional authority to declare free those slaves living in areas loyal to the Union.