15.3
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President Lincoln was reluctant to abolish
slavery but he changed his mind.
This altered the nature of the Civil War and
the lives of African Americans and the future
of the USA.
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At the start of the war, Lincoln feared freeing
the slaves would panic many Northerners and
he would loose the Border States (Slave states
that stayed in the USA).
Lincoln began to realize how important slaves
were to the South’s War effort.
? How would slaves contribute to the
Southern war effort?
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His cabinet members advised him to wait
until a battlefield victory.
? Why should Lincoln wait for a victory to
issue freedom to the slaves in rebellion
states?
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September 22, 1862 after Lee’s retreat from
Antietam, Lincoln puts plans in place to issue
the Emancipation Proclamation to be put in
place on January 1, 1863.
It freed slaves only in areas that were fighting
the Union.
States that were no longer in rebellion or never
was in rebellion were not part of this
emancipation. WHY?
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When did this proclamation go into effect?
Month, day and year.
Who does this emancipate?
Why does it now free a slave in the City of
New Orleans?
Why could this proclamation be deemed
Unconstitutional?
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All though many African Americans were
often free in the North, they did not receive
equal treatment.
African Americans were unable to volunteer
to join the army until after the Emancipation
Proclamation.
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180,000 African Americans served in the Union
army or navy.
Most were freed slaves or runaway slaves
Navy: Black and White sailors served together
on ships
Army: The African Americans served in allblack regiments with lower pay
Many African Americans worked for the war
cause in many ways: cooks, trench diggers,
etc.
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Many slaves did what they could to resist
slavery
They would work slow or would damage
equipment
Often they would refuse to work even when
punished.