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U.S. History I - The Civil War

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    Study Guide U.S. History I – The Civil War 1. Emancipation 1. 1. Early Union Policies on Slavery • Lincoln initially resisted immediate emancipation to keep the border states (slave states loyal to the Union) from seceding. • Some Union generals acted independently: o General B. F. Butler (May 1861): Declared runaway slaves as “contraband” and refused to return them. o General John C. Frémont (Aug 1861): Freed slaves in Missouri and Kansas; Lincoln countermanded this order. • Congressional actions: o Confiscation Act (1861): Freed slaves used to support the Confederacy. o Slavery abolished in D.C. (April 1862) and in U.S. territories (June 1862) . o Second Confiscation Act (July 1862): Gave real freedom to slaves of rebels actively fighting against the Union. 1. 2. Lincoln and Gradual Emancipation • Lincoln proposed gradual emancipation as a long - term solution: o Encouraged states to abolish slavery by 1900 . o Owners loyal to the Union would be compensated . o Option to resettle freed blacks outside the U.S. (if they consented). • Goal: appease border states and address white fears about economic competition with freed slaves.

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    Study Guide 1. 3. The Emancipation Proclamation • Preliminary Proclamation: Sept 22, 1862 o Declared freedom for slaves in Confederate states as of Jan 1, 1863. o Did not apply to border states or Confederate areas that rejoined the Union early. • Formal Proclamation: Jan 1, 1863 o Freed slaves in rebelling Confederate territories o Urged slaves to avoid violence except in self - defense o Allowed African Americans to serve in the Union army and navy • Impact: o Redefined the war’s purpose: from preserving the Union to ending slavery o North and South realized its moral and military significance o Many slaves fled to Union lines, seeking freedom 1. 4. African Americans in the Civil War • Nearly 200,000 African Americans served , mostly former slaves. • Initially assigned to support roles , later fought in combat . • Pay inequity: Blacks received lower pay until June 1864. • Casualties: ~37,000 killed, a higher rate than white soldiers. • Confederacy: o Used slaves for labor, cooking, and military support o In 1865, legislation was passed to enlist 300,000 slaves , but the war ended before it took effect o Irony: slaves would have fought to defend a system committed to keeping them enslaved

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    Study Guide 2. Politics and Economics of the War: 2. 1 Republican Domestic Program (North) • Transcontinental Railroad: o Pacific Railroad Act (1862): Authorized building a line from Omaha, Nebraska, and Sacramento, California. o Land & Loans: Union Pacific and Central Pacific received 60+ million acres and $20 million in loans. o Completed in 1869 . • Homestead Act (1862): Granted 160 acres free to anyone working the land for 5 years. • Morrill Land Grant Act (1862): Public lands given to states to create colleges focused on agriculture and mechanical arts , laying the foundation for modern state universities. 2. 2 Financing the War (North & South) Union: • Revenue sources: Higher tariffs, excise taxes, first federal income tax. • Bureau of Internal Revenue collected taxes. • Greenbacks: Paper money issued as legal tender. • Bonds: Sold widely, raising national debt to ~$3 billion by 1865. Profiteering: • Contractors sometimes provided poor - quality goods. • Example: Shoddy uniforms — cheap, falling apart; “shoddy” became a term for poor quality. Confederacy: • Expected foreign loans did not materialize . • Taxes raised poorly; less than 5% of revenue. • Paper money lacked public confidence → hyperinflation : Confederate dollar worth ~1.5 cents in gold by 1865; prices rose over 9,000% .

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