The Civil War: A
Promise of Freedom
Lesson Two
Ms. Scahill’s PowerPoint
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!
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.
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.”
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.
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.
The Impact of the Emancipation
Proclamation
 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.
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.
th
54
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.
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.
Work Cited

Image-slide two- http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/united-states-ofamerica/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/africanamericans/black_drummer_boy?full=1

Image-slide ninehttp://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.