Actually, Frank, the EP only freed slaves in Southern states in areas not under the control of the federal government. So if you were a slave in Nashville or Memphis or some other area under Union Control at the time of the publication of the EP, you were outta' luck.

I've always thought the EP was written more as a punishment to slaveowners in the areas under Confederate control than to free all the slaves. It seems to have been a punitive act more than an altruistic one.

Jim