Hi George,

Absolutely! I take both Stephens and Lincoln at their word.

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation as a war measure. He knew that when the war drew to a close, the proclamation would no longer be applicable. However, Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.

Simply-put, if there had been no war, Lincoln could never have touched slavery where it already existed. Only the individual states and their representatives in Congress could touch slavery. Again, Lincoln made that very point in his first inaugural.

Best,
Sam.