Why didn't Abraham Lincoln free the slaves before the Civil War?

Explanation: The Civil war started roughly a month after Lincoln was elected, if Lincoln would have freed the slaves he more than likely would not have been elected due to the demand of slave labor in the south. Also he may not have had enough time to get the word out if he did free them because there wasn't instant communication, so the war still would have gone on for a couple of months until the word got around through the mail if that makes sense. Hope this helped you!

"act of congress" : ) hope this

an unexpected salary cut