The Civil War: A Promise of Freedom

1. The Civil War: A Promise of Freedom Lesson Two Ms. Scahill’s PowerPoint

2. Assignment of the Day: Write a journal entry in which you express some concerns that African Americans might have had during the Civil War. Please list at least 4 ideas. We will discuss your responses shortly after!

3. Objectives Be able to identify Lincoln’s primary goal for the American Civil War. Be able to describe the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation. Finally, be able to explain African American’s contribution to the war effort both in the Union and within the Confederacy.

4. Changes in Mind At the beginning of the war, the war was about preserving the Union and not about ending slavery. In fact, many Northern were extremely racist during the start of the Civil War. However, there began to be a shift in the mindset of many Northerners as thousands of slaves escaped from the South to join Union troops. The runaway slaves hoped for freedom and saw fighting as a way to preserve the Union. Union lines became a symbol of freedom for enslaved African Americans. This is a quote from a runaway slave, John Finnely, in Remembering Slavery... “I makes up my mind to go and I leaves with a chunk of meat and cornbread...half skeert to death. I sure have my eyes open and my ears forward, watchin’ for the [Confederate slave patrols]. I step off the road in the night, at the sight of anything, and in the day I take to the woods.”

5. Lincoln’s Goal As the nation began to be impatient about the war, President Abraham Lincoln promised to end the war...but not to end slavery. On August 22, 1862, Lincoln wrote in a letter... “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 do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.” Lincoln was very cautious about the issue of slavery. Why? -There were four slave states that were still a part of the Union. Therefore, Lincoln did not want to make any actions that would cause these slave states to shift their alliance with the Confederacy. Also, Lincoln was cautious about slavery because the border states as well. He feared that the border states might allow the South to use their land/join the Confederacy.

6. The Emancipation Proclamation By mid-1826, President Lincoln came to believe that he could save the Union by broadening the goals of the war...(to address slavery). He decided to free, or emancipate, enslaved African Americans living in the Confederacy. However, in the four slave states that still were in the Union, slaves would not be freed. Motives: Lincoln knew that freeing the slaves in the South would weaken the Confederacy’s ability to carry on the war. Many slaves helped grow food that fed the soldiers, worked in iron and lead mines, and served as nurses for the army. Also, Lincoln believed slavery was wrong. Therefore, when he felt he was able to free the slaves without angering the North, he immediately acted. Timing: Lincoln did not want the announcement of the emancipation to seem like a desperate attempt. Therefore, Lincoln waited until the Union won the Battle of Antietam to announce the Emancipation of Proclamation- Jan. 1, 1863.

7. The Impact of the EmancipationProclamation Because the rebelling states were not under Union control, no slaves were actually freed on January 1, 1863. However, the Emancipation Proclamation added a new purpose for fighting the war. The Union was fighting to end slavery. In the South, it was seen as a “fiend’s act” that destroyed expensive property. The proclamation won the support and sympathy of many Europeans, especially workers. Therefore, the proclamation reduced the chances that any European country would help the South during the remainder of the war.

8. African Americans in the War At first, federal law forbade African Americans to serve as soldier. However, when Congress repealed that law in 1862, both free African Americans and runaway slaves enlisted in the Union army. The army assigned African American volunteers to all-black units that were commanded by white officers. At first, they served only as labor workers and did not see any combat. Most African American soldiers did not receive the same treatment as others. They received only half the pay of other soldiers. Massachusetts was one of the first states to issue an all-black regiment, called the 54th Massachusetts Regiment.

9. 54th Massachusetts Regiment On July 18th, 1863, they led an attack on Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina. Almost half the regiment was killed, including the commander. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment served as an exampled of the bravery of African American troops and helped them gain respect. The Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, told President Lincoln that such soldiers “proved themselves among the bravest of the brave. Throughout all the war, nearly 40,000 African Americans lost their lives.

10. Little Rebellion Despite the Emancipation Proclamation, many African Americans still worked in the South as slaves. However, as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation, many slaves preformed “little rebellions”. For example, many would slow down their work or refused to work at all. They tried to weaken the South’s war effort. Some slaves would wait for Union troops to arrive to their area. Others, would flee to Union lines. By the end of the war, nearly one fourth of the South’s enslaved population had escaped to freedom.

11. Work Cited Image-slide two- http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/united-states-of-america/images/758088/title/civil-war-photo Image-slide three-https://faculty.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=61820 Image-slide five-http://www.civil-war.net/cw_images/files/images/285.jpg Image-slide eight-http://www.civilwar-pictures.com/g/african-americans/black_drummer_boy?full=1 Image-slide nine-http://www.masshist.org/database/viewer.php?item_id=49&mode=small&img_step=1& Image-slide ten- http://www.bridgew.edu/hoba/54thRegiment.cfm Glencoe/McGraw Hill, The American Journey: The Civil War. New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill, 2010. The Fate of Their Country: Politicians, Slavery Extension, and the Coming of the Civil War, Michael F. Holt, 2004. Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction, Eric Foner, 2005.