"But it stands as a living reminder, a century and a half later, of how thoroughly the United States’ most significant moment still shapes our moral universe". What a provocative crock! The intention of the EP was clearly to punish Southern civilians as well as the Confederate Army without antagonizing most of the Southern Unionists. That is precisely why slaves were not liberated in Southern territory behind Union lines. Lincoln wanted a bloody slave insurrection; he wanted to weaken the Confederate economy; and he wanted to appease Europeans (particularly the Brits and French). He got two out of three and if he achieved all of the goals and many more thousands of civilians (black and white) had been slaughtered, then he would still be honored as a hero.