The Final Emancipation

The civil war begins . . . . The Civil War on April 12, 1861 Southern guns fired on Fort Sumter – South Carolina To prevent US Navy from resupplying the fort Background: December 1860 – February 1861 7 states leave the Union to est. an independent nation South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas Four more states leave after firing on Fort Sumter Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee

Another look at the map

Why did the first Seven states “Secede”? A Republican had been elected president Abraham Lincoln Republicans wanted to stop the spread of slavery. Many Republicans were abolitionists Southerners saw abolition as a threat to their way of life Southerners left to preserve their way of life To protect their property -- slaves)

Slavery was the root cause of the civil war Would a northern victory end slavery? At first, Lincoln said “no.” The war was fought to “save the union” Lincoln, August, 1862 -- “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.”

Lincoln wanted to free the slaves Already drafted the Emancipation Proclamation Waiting for the North to win a major battle Lincoln was a politician – acted with caution Others were not constrained Others knew the Civil War was really about ending slavery

The slaves were the first to know Slaves ran away as soon as slaves saw the Union troops The Battle of Bull Run – July 21, 1861 In Maryland and Virginia In Missouri and Kentucky Slaves joined the Northern army as it moved South Slaves took advantage of the chaos of war

Northern soldiers: next to know the true meaning of the war What should they do when slaves arrived? Give them sanctuary (shelter – take them in)? Send them away? Return them to their owners? Sheltering fugitives antagonized loyal slaveholders Returning fugitives antagonized abolitionists Soldiers resented being ordered to capture runaways Soldiers realize slaves were an important war issue Lincoln orders commanders to return slaves

Commanding officers free slaves Two of Lincoln's commanders freed slaves their districts General John C. Frémont General David Hunter Lincoln was publically embarrassed Lincoln countermanded their orders

Congress acts to deprive south of Slaves July of 1861 U.S. Congress passes laws ● Runways were not to be returned ● Slaves used in the war effort were to be confiscated. The status of those slaves effected by these laws was uncertain -- Slave or free? Came to be called “contraband” Benjamin Butler

Congress abolishes slavery in some places April 1862 -- Washington, DC June 1862 – All federal territories July, 1862 – Slaves in Missouri whose owners supported the rebellion

Lincoln moves cautiously Afraid to alienate certain groups of people Border states Soldiers Northern opponents of abolition Backed compensation and colonization. Lincoln offered the border states money to gradually free their slaves Border state reject Lincoln’s offer Lincoln decides it’s time to free the slaves

The emancipation proclamation July 22, 1862, Lincoln told his cabinet Waits for a military victory before making his plan public The Battle of Antietam , 17 September 1862 September 22, 1862 -- The Emancipation Proclamation “On the 1st day of January in the year of our lord 1863, all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thence forth and forever free.”

The proclamation did not free all the slaves The Emancipation Proclamation transformed the Civil War From a war to save the union, into a war to free the slaves It transformed the northern army into an army of liberation