Would the Emancipation Proclamation qualify as an Executive Order?

[Pryderi]

Was talking to a friend of mine and he brought this up as a pretty good argument.

[kelliekat44]

1. I think it was. nt

[elleng]

2. 'a war measure'

It proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the ten states that were still in rebellion,[2] excluding areas controlled by the Union and thus applying to 3 million of the 4 million slaves in the U.S. at the time. The Proclamation was based on the president's constitutional authority as commander in chief of the armed forces;[3] it was not a law passed by Congress. The Proclamation also ordered that suitable persons among those freed could be enrolled into the paid service of United States' forces, and ordered the Union Army (and all segments of the Executive branch) to "recognize and maintain the freedom of" the ex-slaves. The Proclamation did not compensate the owners, did not outlaw slavery, and did not grant citizenship to the ex-slaves (called freedmen). It made the eradication of slavery an explicit war goal, in addition to the goal of reuniting the Union.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation

[csziggy]

3. It was done under Lincoln's authority as Commander-in-Chief

The fourth paragraph of the proclamation explains that Lincoln issued it, "by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation#Drafting_and_issuance_of_the_proclamation

That is why Lincoln had to push for the Thirteenth Amendment - so it would be law after the war was over. Also, the Emacipation Proclamation exempted certain states from having the slaves there freed. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the entire United States:

Acting under presidential war powers, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the ten states that were still in rebellion.[10] However, it did not affect the status of slaves in the border states that had remained loyal to the Union.[11] That December, Lincoln again used his war powers and issued a "Proclamation for Amnesty and Reconstruction", which offered Southern states a chance to peacefully rejoin the Union if they abolished slavery and collected loyalty oaths from 10% of their voting population.[12] Southern states did not readily accept the deal, and the status of slavery remained uncertain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Crafting_the_amendment

[gordianot]

4. Also he arrested people without Habeus Corpus by executive order.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Because Congress was adjourned

IIRC, Congress voted on it as soon as they could once they were back in town, and agreed with Lincoln.

[gordianot]

6. Quite Homeland Securityish of them. They also hung entire juries for bad verdicts in those days.

In very short order.