Emancipation and Refugees

Toward a War of Emancipation

• self-emancipation continued and grew
• abolitionists and “radical” Republicans in Congress pressured Lincoln for:
  • emancipation as a war measure
  • African American enlistment
• northern opinions on emancipation shifted as the war intensified
  • White Union troops especially
  • saw slavery as the cause of the rebellion
  • argued that destroying slavery was the only way to permanently save the Union
  • during war’s final years, a way to make their suffering mean something
  • civilians too, but many stayed opposed
• Congress also moved emancipation policy forward:
• first confiscation act, august 1861
  • authorized US government to seize private property in rebel states used to promote rebellion (including slaves)
  • left status of “contrabands” unclear
• second confiscation act, July 1862
  • expanded and clarified
  • freed enslaved people belonging to anyone aiding the rebellion

Life for African American Refugees

• 300 “contraband camps” in total
• many different arrangements:
  • some spontaneous, some planned
  • camps or barracks alongside the US Army
  • confiscated plantations leased out by the federal governemtn
  • some land redistribution and agrarian colonies
• refugees found only limited safety/security
  • Union forces moved frequently, refugees weren’t the main priority
  • private humanitarian aid insufficient
  • shifting opportunities for work and support
  • poor treatment conditions
  • epidemic diseases
  • abuse by soldiers and civilians on both sides
• an “embattled freedom” for refugees
  • federal policy developed slowly and unevenly
  • refugees pushed for government support and protection (not always successful)
  • for most, emancipation was a process, not a single event or moment

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