Séquence 2 - From Slavery to Civil Rights Act - Séance 3

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:

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:

1. Who do you think is the intended audience for the poster?
2. What does the Government hope the audience will do?
3. What references to pay do you find in this document?
4. What references to treatment of prisoners of war do you find in this document?
5. What evidence of discrimination during the Civil War do you find in this document?
6. What evidence of Government efforts to improve conditions for black soldiers do you find in this document?
7. What purpose(s) of the Government is/are served by this poster?
8. 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.