On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared free all slaves residing in territory in rebellion against the federal government: the Emancipation Proclamation. Not included, however, were slaves in border states fighting on the Union side, nor did it affect slaves in southern areas already under Union control. The states in rebellion did not act on Lincoln's order, as expected. The proclamation did show Americans, and the world, that the Civil War was not being fought to end slavery. Lincoln took a lot of time coming to this position. He was a believer in white supremacy and initially viewed the war only in terms of preserving the Union. National pressure for abolition caused Lincoln to become more sympathetic to the idea.