contraband question Flashcards

(6 cards)

1
Q

introduction

A

Some historians such as Robert F Engs argue that the actions of contraband slaves forced Lincoln to make a decision about emancipation.

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2
Q

evidence 1 - butler

A

The issue of what to do with escaped slaves who arrived at Union lines became an apparent problem, due to the vast number of contraband slaves arriving at these lines. Initially, Lincoln tried to avoid this issues as under the 1850 fugitive slave law, the fugitives arriving at union lines should have been returned to their owner. Consequently, Lincoln ordered Generals that they must not allow fugitives within their lines in the first place, however the vast quantity of slaves escaping to union lines made this unsustainable. Some Generals such as General Butler took matters into their own hands In May 1861, General Butler declared that any slaves who came to his camps would be deemed as “contraband’s of war”, preventing them from being returned to the Confederacy.

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3
Q

analysis 1

A

Lincoln showed his support of this decision by passing the First Confiscation Act in August 1861, an act which threatened any property used “for insurrectionary purposes” with confiscation. This showed that he was beginning to consider acting on emancipation through the pressure put on him from escaped slaves as the act signaled a shift in his approach to slavery. Initially, he was unwilling to interfere with slavery where it already existed, but the passing of this act meant that he was actively seizing African Americans from slave states, preventing these states from using black people for labour.

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4
Q

evidence 2

A

Additionally, in August 1861 General John Fremont issued a proclamation which freed all slaves of Confederate activists in Missouri, to gain support from Radical Republicans

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5
Q

counter analysis

A

However, Lincoln opposed this as he didn’t want to alienate the Border states, warning Fremont that freeing the slaves of rebels would “alarm our Southern Union friends and turn them against us – perhaps ruin our rather fair prospect for Kentucky.”, suggesting that he was more concerned about preserving Northern unity than the emancipation of slaves.

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6
Q

evaluation

A

To evaluate, the actions of contraband slaves were vital in putting pressure on Lincoln to issue the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Ultimately, Historians Robert F Engs argues that “the slaves freed themselves” as they saw the potential of the war for the abolition of slavery before Lincoln did. This highlights how everlasting effort put on Union Generals by escaped slaves brought the issue of Slavery into plain sight.

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