How The Civil War Became A War To Free The Slaves

When President Lincoln first called for troops to put down the confederate rebellion, he made no connection between this action and an attempt to end slavery. In fact, he explicitly stated the utmost care will be observed to avoid any devastation, any destruction of, or interference with, property... At this point, slavery was not yet integral to the struggle, it was much more important for the Union to air on the side of political prudence and avoid angering loyal boarder states. However, despite this lack of political dialogue, many abolitionists, slaves, and free blacks felt the war to preserve the union could also be a war to end slavery. In the end, they were right, as military need overwhelmed potential political dangers, slaves†¦show more content†¦Despite these misgivings, the Union policy of returning slaves who had not been employed by the Confederacy continued as the army moved through the boarder states. When they began to move deeper south, however, this polic y became much more difficult to enforce. General Ambrose E. Burnside found this to be true after invading coastal North Carolina and finding virtually no loyal slaveholders but many slaves who â€Å"seemed to be wild with excitement and delight.† This, combined with ever increasing recognition of fugitive slave labors importance to the Union war effort, led Congress to declare in March 1892 that Union soldiers were forbidden to return fugitive slaves to their owners. Even with this change in policy, the federal government continued to overrule emancipation efforts as they attempted to retain the loyalty of slaveholding boarder states. When General David Hunter proclaimed freedom for all slaves in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, he was quickly overruled by President Lincoln. However, while Lincoln clearly stuck down General Hunter’s proclamation, he also offered aid to the boarder states so they â€Å"may adopt a gradual abolishment of slavery.† Despite t his set back, Hunter continued to work for the emancipation of slaves, and went so far as to enlist ex-slaves as soldiers without any authorization to do so. Although his actions may have beenShow MoreRelatedThe Causes of the Civil War Essay example1121 Words   |  5 Pagesand turn on each other? The Civil war has main causes, key people, and battles. All of the people, events, and causes effected how the war came to be and how the Civil War was fought. The important people of the Civil war made important decisions that may have caused one side to a victory or a horrific lose. The battles of the war were bloody and devastating, and the causes of the Civil War show how different the North was from the South. 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