Military Conscription The Draft Following massive losses at

Military Conscription (The Draft) • Following massive losses at Shiloh in 1862, The Confederate (Southern) Gov. passes military conscription laws. (3 years of Service for all men 18 -35 then later 45!) • Their laws exempted most planters and their sons from serving • The Governors of many Confederate States ignored the conscription laws.

Military Conscription • The North has a draft as well by 1863, and many people are not happy about it. • A man could pay $300 to hire a substitute and get out of service. Most people drafted are poor and/or immigrants. • In July 1863, a riot breaks out in NYC. Thousands of mostly Irish and German immigrants riot for 5 days. Homes for “$300 men” are burned and looted, stores, newspaper offices, and draft offices are burned, the police are attacked, and over a dozen blacks are lynched in the streets.

https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=TKJ_OOKQVr. U Gangs of New York Draft Riots

Contrabands/Confiscation Act • Seizing the opportunity of the chaos of the war, hundreds of slaves (called contrabands) run away from their owners and come into Union camps on a daily basis. • Most Union Generals refuse to return them, and instead put them work a laborers and eventually as soldiers for the Union. • As part of their strategy, the Union passes the Confiscation Act in 1861 which allows its military to seize all property, including slaves, used to aid the Confederates. • Viewed as a step towards emancipation because many of the Contrabands end up free.

Emancipation Proclamation 1862 • Emancipation will be used by Lincoln as a tool of war. • Lincoln bases the legality of this proclamation on his duty as “Commander in Chief” to suppress the rebellion. • It declares slaves in the States that remain in rebellion are now free. It is a very specific list down to specific counties where it applies. • The border states that never left the Union will still have slavery intact. • It does not technically free any slaves. (the 13 th amendment will in 1865)

Emancipation Proclamation • This is incredibly controversial in the North. Many Republicans lose their seats in Congress to Democrats in the 1862 mid term elections. • Many Americans still do not see this as a war to free slaves or promote equality. They see it as a fight to preserve the Union • This Proclamation will however be very symbolic and mark a significant point in history of the conflict