Civil War Dbq Analysis

The Civil War was a very important war in shaping the course of American history. Tensions between the North and the South led to a distinctive divide between the two regions, which each one failing to comply with the other’s demands. While one side would support a certain cause, the other would completely disagree with it. As these disagreements heightened, it became clear that African Americans were the center of discussion, but more importantly, slavery. African Americans became a key part of the events that would lead up to the war, and the events which would follow years later. From the first year (1861) to almost ten years later (1870), African Americans shaped the course and consequences of the Civil War by their involvement in many phases, including the change in the Union’s focus of the war, the addition of three new amendments to the …show more content…
During his first term, Lincoln had many issues at hand, one of which being the fugitive slaves who were escaping into the North. He and other Union officials were debating whether to keep the slaves as confiscated property and “contrabands” of war, or return them back to the rebellious states, in accordance with the Fugitive Slave Act (Doc A). Another issue he faced was whether to grant freedom to the slaves in both the North and the South or keep them enslaved. While he stated that he wouldn’t free a single slave if that meant saving the Union, his view soon changed. In 1861 and 1862, Congress passed the Confiscation Acts, stating that Union forces would be allowed to confiscate any property from the Confederate states, and as slaves were considered property, they were taken as well. The main goal of these acts was to free the slaves located in the Confederacy, and they gradually allowed for a more powerful form of emancipation just months later. After the Union victory at the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln