Although disappointed by the elections, Lincoln and the Republicans did not allow it to influence their actions. Indeed, the pace of radicalism increased during the next few months. On November 7, Lincoln removed McClellan from command of the Army of the Potomac. Although military factors prompted this action, it had important political overtones. In December the House decisively rejected a Democratic resolution branding emancipation “a high crime against the Constitution,” and endorsed the Emancipation Proclamation by a party-line vote. Congress also passed an enabling act requiring the
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