16 3 pp

Chapter Objectives

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• Describe why Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

• Understand the role that African Americans played in the Civil War.

Section 3: A Call for Freedom

Why It MattersThe Civil War–a war in which Americans fought other Americans–transformed the United States. It shattered the economy of the South while contributing to the rapid economic growth of the North and the West. African Americans gained freedom when slavery was abolished, but the war left a legacy of bitterness between North and South that lasted for generations.

The Impact Today


Key events during this era still shape our lives today. For example:

• The institution of slavery was abolished.

• The war established the power of the federal government over the states.

Guide to Reading


The Civil War provided opportunities for African Americans to contribute to the war effort.

• emancipate

Main Idea

Key Terms

• ratify


Emancipation• The North’s original war goal was to preserve

the Union rather than to destroy slavery.

• Lincoln and other Republican leaders had stated they would act only to prevent the expansion of slavery.

• Lincoln was hesitant to move against slavery because of the border states.

• He did not want to divide the people and make the war less popular.

(pages 473–476)(pages 473–476)


Emancipation (cont.) • As the war went on, many Northerners thought

that slavery was helping the war effort in the South.

• Anything that weakened slavery weakened the Confederacy in the North’s view.

• In 1861 and 1862, Congress passed laws that freed enslaved people who were held by people active in the rebellion against the Union.

• Some African Americans escaped slavery by going into territory held by the Union army.

(pages 473–476)(pages 473–476)


Emancipation (cont.) • Lincoln decided to take action on slavery.

• He thought that as president he should be the one to make the decision to end slavery, not Congress.

• On January 1, 1863, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It said that “all persons held as slaves within any state . . . in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”

(pages 473–476)(pages 473–476)


Emancipation (cont.) • There were several effects of the proclamation:

(pages 473–476)(pages 473–476)

- It did not actually free anyone. The Thirteenth Amendment, ratified by Congress in 1865, truly freed enslaved Americans.

- Lincoln hoped that word of the proclamation would encourage enslaved people to run away. Before the Emancipation Proclamation, about 100,000 African Americans left for the safety of the Union.


Emancipation (cont.)

(pages 473–476)(pages 473–476)

- Because Britain and France opposed slavery, they decided to withhold recognition of the Confederacy.

- Northern African Americans were pleased by the decree.


African Americans in the War • African Americans helped the war effort

in the North and South.

(pages 476–477)(pages 476–477)

• In the North, African Americans were not permitted to serve as soldiers at the beginning of the war. However, the Union navy accepted them.

• Others, such as Harriet Tubman of the Underground Railroad, were able to help the North as spies or guides behind Confederate lines.


African Americans in the War (cont.) • In 1862 African Americans were allowed to

serve in the Union army.

• Both free African Americans and those who escaped slavery enlisted.

• By the end of the war, African American volunteers made up almost 10 percent of the Union army and 18 percent of the navy.

• About 200,000 African Americans served and 37,000 died defending the Union.

(pages 476–477)(pages 476–477)


African Americans in the War (cont.) • African American regiments were separate

from the rest of the Union army.

• Most command officers were white.

• After protest about unequal pay, African American and white soldiers received the same pay in 1864.

(pages 476–477)(pages 476–477)


African Americans in the War (cont.) • The 54th Massachusetts led by white

abolitionists was one of the most famous African American regiments.

• Their bravery in a battle against a Confederate fort near Charleston, South Carolina, in July 1863 won respect for African American troops.

(pages 476–477)(pages 476–477)


African Americans in the War (cont.) • African Americans did not serve in the

Confederate military at first because white Southerners were afraid of a slave rebellion.

• Near the end of the war, though, the Confederacy needed men.

• The Confederate Congress passed a law in 1865 to enlist enslaved people.

• The law did not include automatic freedom just because the men served as soldiers.

• The war ended before any regiments were organized. (pages 476–477)(pages 476–477)


African Americans in the War (cont.) • People had different attitudes toward African

Americans as soldiers.

• Lincoln’s opponents criticized the use of African American soldiers.

• Many white Southerners were also outraged and threatened to execute any they captured and did execute some.

• Enslaved workers were overjoyed to see African American soldiers in the Union army.

(pages 476–477)(pages 476–477)

16 3 pp

Education

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