The British Position The Emancipation Proclamation Dealing with Dissent

Britain remained neutral in the Civil War since their reliance on cotton from the South was no longer necessary. This economic change made Britain feel no need to intercede in the war. One incident occurred that would test the neutrality of Britain. When the Confederates sent two diplomats to speak with the British for a 2 nd time about joining their side in the war. The two diplomats traveled on the Trent, a British ship, and this was stopped by the San Jacinto, a Union warship. When the two men were taken as prisoners, the British threatened war and sent 8,000 troops to Canada. Lincoln quickly released the two men and stopped foreign intervention.

What did Lincoln find to be the primary purpose of the Civil War? Lincoln did not feel ending slavery was paramount, but rather it was to save the Union. Lincoln did, however, find a way to use his Constitutional war powers to end slavery. Since slaves helped the Southern war effort, Lincoln argued that the Union could seize and emancipate slaves. Emancipation served several purposes. It kept Britain out of the war since they were pro-abolition, and became a weapon Lincoln would wield.

Jan. 1 st, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The following excerpt is from this document: “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, thenceforward, forever free.” The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to areas behind Confederate control, therefore it did not outright free all slaves. It was a military action aimed only at Confederate states. The proclamation had several effects. First, it made the war into a moral struggle. Secondly, it opened up the Union army to blacks. But it also made the Confederacy fight to preserve their way of life. Not everyone in the Union supported the proclamation either, and Democrats saw it as merely an agitating method in the war.

Lincoln crushed dissent with an iron fist. A week after Ft. Sumter, a crowd in Baltimore attacked Union troops. Lincoln sent in federal troops and suspended the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland. What did suspending the writ of habeas corpus mean, and how did it impact presidential powers? This allowed authorities to jail someone without having to appear before a court to determine why they were being jailed. Lincoln would use this tactic several times throughout the Civil War to combat dissent, particularly from the Copperheads- Northern Democrats who wanted peace with the South. 13,000 Confederate sympathizers were jailed under this act, and Lincoln also seized telegraph offices.

Causalities of war and desertion on both sides led to the need for more soldiers. The draft laws that were passed led to major issues in both the North and South. How did the Southern law lead to the saying that it was “A rich man’s war, but a poor man’s fight.” Southern draft laws allowed for the wealthy to hire someone to take their place and exempted planters. The Union did not need as high a rate of conscription and 92% of the 2 million soldiers that fought were volunteers. Almost 200,000 of which were African- American.

In 1863, New York City erupted into riots as poor white workers, particularly Irish immigrants, ruined draft offices, Republican newspaper offices, and the homes of anti-slavery leaders. This was in response to the conscription, and many disagreed about drafting the poor whites who felt their jobs would be in danger if freed blacks moved North. Why did the poor disagree with fighting in the war? The draft riots ended in four days with over 100 people dead, and this would be a symptom of more issues to come on the home-front.

 HW: SpNotes 11.3  Tomorrow is the due date for the Rough Draft- the 2 nd stage of the research paper  If you “rough” rough draft is not handed in by the end of study hall, make sure to show up to the 5:30.