Download African Americans and the War Completed

African Americans and the War
How did the Emancipation Proclamation and the efforts of African American Soldiers
affect the course of the war?
The Push towards Emancipation
What does Emancipation mean?
 Freeing the slaves
Military Contraband 1861
Even if Lincoln was not ready to admit it,
blacks knew that this was a war against slavery. Some,
however, rejected the idea of fighting to preserve a
Union that had rejected them and which did not give
them the rights of citizens.
The federal government had a harder time
deciding what to do about escaping slaves. Because
there was no consistent federal policy regarding
fugitives, individual commanders made their own
decisions. Some put them to work for the Union
forces; others wanted to return them to their owners.
Finally, on August 6, 1861, fugitive slaves
were declared to be "contraband of war" if their labor
had been used to aid the Confederacy in any way. And
if found to be contraband, they were declared free
Fredrick Douglas
Douglass and the abolitionists argued
that because the aim of the Civil War
was to end slavery, African Americans
should be allowed to engage in the
fight for their freedom.
What were the three steps to abolishment
of slavery during the Civil War?
1. Slaves found by Union Generals
were labeled contraband and set
free
The Militia Act of 1862
The Militia Act of 1862 was legislation enacted
by the United States Congress in 1862 during the
American Civil War to draft 300,000 eligible soldiers
into the Union Armies. It also allowed blacks to join
the Union Army.
The act created controversy on several fronts.
While praised by many abolitionists and black-rights
activists as a first step toward equality, it stipulated
that the newly recruited black soldiers primarily be
used
\ for manual labor, not combat. Although black
soldiers proved themselves as reputable soldiers,
discrimination in pay and other areas remained
widespread
2. Allowing blacks to fight in the war
for the Union with the Militia Act
3. The Emancipation proclamation
freed all slaves in states that had
seceded
Q. Why were these three steps pivotal in abolishment of slavery?
I.
Military Contraband
II. The Militia Act
III. Emancipation Proclamation
A.___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
__
The Bloodiest Day: The Battle of Antietam 1863
Analysis: The Significance of the Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg (fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland) on
Wednesday, September 17, 1862 put an end to General Robert E. Lee's first serious attempt to
bring the American Civil War to the North, gave President Abraham Lincoln the victory he needed
to issue the crucial Emancipation Proclamation, and probably doomed the Confederacy's hopes
for European recognition and support.
More men were killed or wounded on that day than on any other single day of the Civil
War: some 12,400 Federal and 10,300 Confederate troops were casualties in about twelve hours
of ferocious combat. The battle ended in a tactical draw because, while Union commander
George McClellan failed to drive the Confederate forces from the field, neither did General Lee's
army thereafter have the strength to continue the invasion.
Immediate Results of the Battle

Incredible loss of life. No other single day of American history before or since has been so
deadly. Nearly one of every four soldiers engaged was a casualty: killed, wounded, or
captured. For the men of both armies, the American Civil War was now an all-out, life or
death struggle.

For the North, the battle near Antietam Creek "saved" the nation. The Confederate invasion
was turned away, so the immediate threat was past. In the process, the Federal Army of the
Potomac (AOP) had shown itself to be a fine fighting force, even if not well led.

For the South Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) had also fought extremely
well, but he did not achieve his larger goal of seriously hurting the Federal Army, and the
Maryland Campaign did little to advance the cause of Southern Independence after all.

Lincoln "fired" McClellan and appointed Ambrose Burnside to relieve McClellan in command
of the AOP, but
Public and Political Impact

Confederate failure in Maryland meant there would be No quick end to the War

No foreign support

Once Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, no civilized nation would side
against the "defenders of freedom".

Lincoln could claim a victory, and it looked as though the fortunes of war might be turning in
favor of the Union for the Fall elections of 1862

Ordinary citizens in the North also felt the impact of the battle in a way not known before in
America. A display of Alexander Gardner's Antietam Photographs in New York, and their
further publication in newspapers, vividly brought home to them the dreadful carnage of the
battle..
Impacts of Antietam
North
South
No Foreign Support
Political- Claimed
Political-
Social-Photography
of the Death, loss of
public support for the war
Social-
Economical- Put
Economical- Running
victory, Got
Republicans elected to office in 1862.
more industry into
backing the war effort
Loss of Life, No quick end of the
war for either side
out of resources to
support their war effort, due to blockade
and length of the war
Emancipation at Last
The Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863
"that
all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are,
and henceforward shall be free."
Do you think Lincoln was right to wait so long before declaring emancipation?
Who is not set free by this proclamation?
What do you think was the most important effect of the proclamation?
African Americans Join the Fight
The 54th Massachusetts Regiment
The First all black regiment allowed
to fight in the Civil War
The 54th Mass.
How did African Americans respond to Union recruitment efforts after the Emancipation
Proclamation?
The 54th Mass. Assault of Fort Wagner
How did the Emancipation Proclamation and the efforts of African American Soldiers
affect the course of the war?