abraham lincoln and the civil war (in-class)

• lincoln didn’t care about freeing the slaves, just wanted to preserve the union through the war

• april 1862, radical republicans passed the bill to abolish slavery in Washington DC

• june 1862, a law was passed abolishing slavery in the dakota, utah, nebraska, colorado, and new mexico territories

• july 1862, congress passed the confiscation act, which freed all slaves owned by those supporting the insurrection

  • did not completely abolish slavery, just said that the union army could take any slaves that belonged to the confederacy

• after the battle of antietam, lincoln realized that he needed to change the aim of the war

  • he now said that the civil war aimed to end slavery

  • this warranted the union army to begin harassing the south because it was for the purpose of ending slavery

  • violence was now justified because it was to end slavery - “TOTAL WAR”

• september 22nd 1862, lincoln made the emancipation proclamation

  • said that all slaves within rebellion areas would be free by the beginning of the 1863

  • did not free slaves in border states

  • did not free slaves in confederate states

  • these freed slaves were not accommodated though

  • reinvigorated the union while making sure that the south wouldn’t get european help

black soldiers:

• after the emancipation proclamation, the governor of massuchusetts organized a black regiment - a group of soldiers made up of prior slaves

  • black soldiers were paid half the amount that white soldiers were paid

  • black soldiers were shot more often