President Lincoln Presenting the Emancipation Proclamation to His Cabinet In this engraving, based on a painting by Francis B. Carpenter, Lincoln reads the first draft of his Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet on September 22, 1862. To the left of Lincoln are Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (seated) and Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, the two strongest supporters of the Proclamation. To the right of Lincoln are Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles (seated), Secretary of the Interior Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of State William Seward (seated), Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, and Attorney General Edward Bates (seated). Bates and Blair opposed the plan. Library of Congress