Before the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, Lincoln had to deal with some issues he did not agree with; for example, Congress passed the First and Second Confiscations Acts. The First Confiscation Act was not very explicit when it came to the freedom of slaves, but it allowed the Union army to seize any rebel property and since slaves were considered property they were able to take them. The Second Confiscation Act was set forth to punish treason and rebellion against the United States and anyone charged with treason would be put to trial. However, Lincoln did not like this as he felt this violated Article III, section 3 of the Constitution. He felt this way because Congress could only punish those who were corrupt throughout their
