Séquence 2: From Slavery to Civil Rights Act
Séance 3
Séance 3: Civil War and the Abolition of Slavery
1st step: The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863
Read:
Read:
Initially, the Civil War between North and South was fought
by the North to prevent the secession of the Southern states and preserve the
Union. Even though sectional conflicts over slavery had been a major cause of
the war, ending slavery was not a goal of the war. That changed on September
22, 1862, when President Lincoln issued his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation,
which stated that slaves in those states or parts of states still in rebellion
as of January 1, 1863, would be declared free. One hundred days later, with
the rebellion unabated, President issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring
“that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious areas “are,
and henceforward shall be free.”
Lincoln’s bold step to change the goals of the war was a military measure
and came just a few days after the Union’s victory in the Battle of Antietam.
With this Proclamation he hoped to inspire all blacks, and slaves in the Confederacy
in particular, to support the Union cause and to keep England and France from
giving political recognition and military aid to the Confederacy. Because it
was a military measure, however, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in
many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving
slavery untouched in the loyal border states. It also expressly exempted parts
of the Confederacy that had already come under Union control. Most important,
the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation,
it did fundamentally transform the character of the war. After January 1, 1863,
every advance of Federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the
Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy,
enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000
black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.
From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own
liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war
for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union
cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone
along the road to slavery's final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation
has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom.
=> see the Emancipation Proclamation here: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/transcript.html
Activity:
Doc 2: a military recruitment poster
I know, it's a bit hard to read, yet it's possible.
(here's a brief transcription of the last paragrpah from A.Lincolnto help you: "The Government of the United States will give the same protection to
all its soldiers, and if the enemy shall sell or enslave anyone because
of his color, the offense shall be punished by retaliation upon the
enemy's prisoners in our possession. It is therefore ordered, for every
soldier of the United States, killed in violation of the laws of war, a
rebel soldier shall be executed; and for every one enslaved by the
enemy, or sold into slavery, a rebel soldier shall be placed at hard
labor on the public works, and continued until the other shall be
released and receive the treatment due to prisoners of war." )
Answer the following questions:
- Who do you think is the intended audience for the poster?
- What does the Government hope the audience will do?
- What references to pay do you find in this document?
- What references to treatment of prisoners of war do you find in this document?
- What evidence of discrimination during the Civil War do you find in this document?
- What evidence of Government efforts to improve conditions for black soldiers do you find in this document?
- What purpose(s) of the Government is/are served by this poster?
- What happened to A. Lincoln in 1865?
Other milestones:
- January 31, 1865: The 13th Amendment abolishes slavery in the US.
The 13th amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United
States, passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, and the House on January 31,
1865. On February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln approved the
Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the
state legislatures. The necessary number of states ratified it by
December 6, 1865. The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution
provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction."
- June 13, 1866: The 14th Amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to former slaves.
Passed in 1866 and ratified on July 9, 1868, the major provision of the 14th amendment was to grant citizenship
to “All persons born or naturalized in the United States,” thereby
granting citizenship to former slaves. Another equally important provision was
the statement that “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty,
or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.” The right to due process of law and
equal protection of the law now applied to both the Federal and state governments.
- February 26, 1869 (Passed by Congress): The
15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote. Ratified February 3, 1870.
QUESTIONS : - How does this illustrate the notion of progress? Use "brainstorming" p. 248 to answer.
-Did the 14th amendment succeed in extending the Bill of Rights to the states? Search on the web, paying attention to the accuracy of the websites.
-Did the 14th amendment succeed in extending the Bill of Rights to the states? Search on the web, paying attention to the accuracy of the websites.
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