us history ch 19.3

U.S. History

Chapter 19: The Civil WarSection 4: Life During the War

Freeing the Slaves

•Lincoln supported freeing slaves if it would help the Northern war effort

Freeing the Slaves

• Problems:

– Northern prejudice

– Slaves considered property

– No constitutional power to end slavery

Freeing the Slaves

•Military order

•Emancipation Proclamation—declared slaves free in those areas controlled by the Confederacy

Freeing the Slaves

• July 22, 1862: Lincoln discusses emancipation with cabinet

Freeing the Slaves

•Advised to wait

•Announced after victory at Antietam

•Issued September 22, 1863

Freeing the Slaves

•100 days to lay down arms

•Effective January 1, 1863

•Encouraged slaves to escape to Union lines

African Americans & the War

• Union navy permitted African American to volunteer

• Calls to allow African Americans in Union Army

• Practical reason: need for soldiers

African Americans & the War

• July 1862: Congress allows African Americans to serve as laborers

• 1862: War Department allows contrabands to join Union Army

•Contrabands—escaped slaves

African Americans & the War

• 54th Massachusetts—infantry unit consisting mostly of African Americans who played a role in the capture of Ft. Wagner

African Americans & the War

• 180,000 served in Union army

• Less pay

• Served under white officers

• Danger from Confederates

Problems in the North

•Problems

–Emancipation

–Length of war

–Casualties

Problems in the North

• Copperheads—northern Democrats who opposed the war

Problems in the North

•Other problems:

–March 1863: enactment of draft

–Suspension of habeas corpus

Problems in the North

•Habeas corpus—constitutional protection against unlawful imprisonment

Southern Struggles

•Naval blockade cut off supplies

•Prices shot up

•Draft law (exclusions)

Life on the Home Front

• Young & old worked in factories & farms

• Southern women ran farms and plantations

• Women played role in providing medical care

Life on the Home Front

Dorthea Dix Clara Barton

Life on the Home Front

•Uncomfortable, unhealthy camps

•Twice as many soldiers died from disease