Download 1 The Civil War Begins Chapter 4, section 2 Use the textbook (as

The Civil War Begins
Chapter 4, section 2
Use the textbook (as well as the information in the primary source, “The Emancipation
Proclamation” for question 1 a-d). Answers must be in complete sentences.
1. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, about midway through the war. By this proclamation, Lincoln used presidential constitutional war
powers to try to end slavery.
a. Explain, with details and in your own words, the key points of the Emancipation
Proclamation.
i. In which places did Lincoln free the slaves?
b. Who was charged with carrying out the orders in it?
c. In what way was the Emancipation Proclamation a part of Lincoln’s war strategy?
d. Why do you think Lincoln did not free all the slaves?
2. During the Civil War, how did African Americans (referred to at that time as Negroes) assist
in the fight for their freedom?
3. Explain the effects the war had on both the Northern and Southern economies. (Discuss
one region at a time)
4. What roles did women have in the Civil War?
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Civil War Questions: Emancipation Proclamation, Economy, Blacks’ and Women’s roles
1. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, about mid-way
through the war. By this proclamation, Lincoln used presidential constitutional war powers to try
to end slavery.
a. Explain, with details and in your own words, the key points of the Emancipation Proclamation.
- The Emancipation Proclamation said that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are
free as of January 1, 1863, the date the Proclamation was issued.
- It also said that the US Government would recognize and maintain the freedom of those people and
would not interfere with or harm or suppress their efforts in any way as they attempt to obtain their
freedom.
- The US military (the army and navy) was also under orders to maintain the freedom of the people
held as slaves. This meant they were to help assure their freedom.
- Lincoln asked the freed slaves to not engage in violence unless it was necessary for their self-defense.
- Finally, the document said that people held as slaves would be welcome to serve in the US armed
services (effective immediately), meaning the Northern army and navy.
i. In which places did Lincoln free the slaves?
Lincoln freed the slaves in the states that had seceded from the Union – which did not
include the border states that had remained loyal to the Union – Maryland, Delaware,
West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri (including Indian Territory, which was
not yet a state). The wording in the Emancipation Proclamation also did not apply to
areas within the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control.
b. Who was charged with carrying out the orders in it?
The US Army was charged with carrying out the orders to assist the freed slaves and make sure no
harm came to them.
c. In what way was the Emancipation Proclamation a part of Lincoln’s war strategy?
The Emancipation Proclamation gave the war a moral purpose by turning the struggle into a fight to
free the slaves. It may also have encouraged enslaved people in the South to resist their enslavement
and sabotage the plantations of their owners.
d. Why do you think Lincoln did not free all the slaves?
- Lincoln probably did not free all the slaves (such as in areas of the Confederacy that had already
come under Northern control) because he needed the support of the North, and not all Northerners
believed that the Civil War was a fight over slavery or the expansion of slavery.
2. During the Civil War, how did African Americans (referred to at that time as Negroes) assist in the
fight for their freedom?
- Almost 200,000 African Americans joined the Northern (Union) army or navy and fought for the
Union. However, their units were segregated, the men earned lower pay than the white soldiers for
most of the war, and they were discriminated against in other ways.
3. Explain the effects the war had on both the Northern and Southern economies. (Discuss one region
at a time) (see pgs. 174, 182)
The South:
- The war had a huge negative effect on the South: the South began with a mostly agricultural
economy and little industry or transportation systems. Men going off to the war left few people to take
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care of the food growing needs of the region, and a food shortage developed very soon after the start of
the war. When the Union forces occupied parts of the South, food growing suffered there too. When
emancipation began, the loss of enslaved farm workers really impacted the South’s ability to grow and
get food to market. This resulted in huge food shortages and skyrocketing inflation – 7,000 percent at
a point.
- Worldwide demand for Southern cotton plunged in the 1860s, creating major economic problems for
those who grew the South’s major crop
- What little industry there was in the South was wrecked by the destruction brought by the Union
army. The limited transportation systems in the South also were destroyed as part of the Northern
strategy, adding to the already severe problems in moving Confederate troops and war supplies to
where they were needed.
- The North blockaded southern ports and seriously damaged southern trade with the rest of the world
- After the war, the Southern economy, industry, and infrastructure were in ruin
The North:
- The war expanded the Northern economy as more goods were able to be produced because demand
was high – clothing, blankets, tents, food, shoes and boots; and steel products (weaponry, cannon,
ships, etc.)
- the North controlled the nation’s banks, railroads, and factories
- wages did not keep up with prices, however, and many peoples’ standard of living fell. Strikes by
white workers for better wages did not result in an increase in their wages. Instead, employers hired
free blacks and women as well as immigrants (Europeans) to staff the factories.
- The first income tax was passed as there was a need to pay for the Northern war costs; excise taxes
(fees) and tariffs were also raised.
4. What roles did women have in the Civil War?
- Many thousands of women served as US Army nurses; Southern women – middle and upper class –
also volunteered for nursing duty.
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