sentences:  In April 1862, Lincoln signed a law abolishing slavery in Washington, D.C., and, in June, he signed another law abolishing slavery in all federal territories.The following month, Lincoln signed the Confiscation Act of 1862, which declared that all Confederate slaves taking refuge behind Union lines were to be set free.Union victories in 1861 and 1862 secured the border states, which in turn freed Lincoln's hand to pursue more aggressive anti-slavery policies.