Notes

Two Societies at War

The North's Advantages (1861)
-Population was TWICE as large (4x as the non-slave population)
-Industrialization was booming and the North was able to manufacture all its needed war materials
-Railroads were better and there were more of them
-Stronger Navy
-Stronger foreign relations

The South's Advantages (1861)
-South was fighting a "defensive" war on their own land
-All white Southerners were united for the cause of the Civil War (the North was more split)
-South controls the cotton industry that other countries depend upon
-South had stronger military leaders
-Youth possessed skills needed for military

The Union Army and Draft Riots (1863)
-In 1863, the North had only 16,000 troops
-Lincoln called for a 23,000 troop increase
-By March 1863, Congress had to pass national draft laws
-Basically any young, healthy man had the chance of being drafted
-A man could escape draft by paying $300
-Demonstrators against the draft rioted in New York in one of the most violent uprisings in American History
-Many African-Americans were lynched by the rioters who blamed them for the war

Lincoln and the Politics of Emancipation
-1863: Republicans are sharply divided on the issue of slavery
-Some wanted emancipation ASAP
-Others wanted gradual emancipation
-Lincoln hesitates to end slavery to keep loyalty of the border states
-Confiscation Act: all slaves used by the South for Confederacy war effort are considered "free" by the North; employed free blacks as soldiers

African Americans and the Union
-In the first months of war, African Americans were excluded from the military
-Eventually, 186,000 African Americans would serve as soldiers, sailors, and laborers, for the Union army
-African Americans were treated unequally and suffered from poor work conditions
-Captured African Americans were often executed

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
-January 1, 1863: Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation
-Declared all slaves free in the Confederacy, except those already under Union control: Tennessee, western Virginia, southern Louisiana
-Proclamation does not apply to the border states that did not secede from the Union

Why did Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863?

In 1863, Lincoln issued one of the most important documents in American history, the Emancipation Proclamation. This Proclamation was an Executive Order and freed slaves that were in the Confederate states. Rather than just directly passing a bill that freed all slaves, Lincoln was strategic about how to win the war and liberate the slaves at the same time. If Lincoln had freed all slaves, the border states would be angered and could possible secede from the Union. By freeing the slaves in the states that rebelled against the Union (the Southern states), he was able to use the newly freed men to add to his army. This expanded the Union's power and limited the Confederate's while compromising with the border states. In the actual document, Lincoln said, "And upon this act, sincerely believed to be and act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgement of mankind..." (Doc. A). Lincoln specifically says that this act is "upon military necessity" because