Abraham Lincoln surprises his cabinet by reading a draft of an executive order freeing all slaves in Confederate states.

Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Abraham Lincoln surprises his cabinet by reading a draft of an executive order freeing all slaves in Confederate states.
Abraham Lincoln meets his vice president-elect for the first time as they discuss organizing the incoming administration in Chicago.
September 10, 1864 – President Abraham Lincoln worked to reunite the conservatives and Radicals within his Republican Party as the presidential race began heating up.
June 7, 1864 – Republicans and some Democrats supporting the war effort gathered at Baltimore’s Front Street Theater on the first day of a convention