Second Confiscation Act

Examples of Second Confiscation Act in the following topics:

• Union Politics

  • As the war progressed, emancipation remained a risky political act that had little public support.
  • Despite his concerns that premature attempts at emancipation would weaken his support and entail the loss of crucial border states, Lincoln signed these acts into law.
  • The first of these laws to be implemented was the First Confiscation Act of August 1861, which authorized the confiscation of any Confederate property, including slaves, by Union forces.
  • In June 1862, Congress passed a Law Enacting Emancipation in the Federal Territories, and in July, passed the Second Confiscation Act, which contained provisions intended to liberate slaves held by rebels.
  • The latter act also declared that any Confederate official, military or civilian, who did not surrender within 60 days of the act's passage would have his slaves freed.

• African Americans in the Military

  • Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act in July 1862.
  • It freed slaves of owners in rebellion against the United States, and a militia act empowered the president to use freed slaves in any capacity in the army.

• Johnson's Plan

  • Second, to Johnson, African-American suffrage was a delay and a distraction; it always had been a state responsibility to decide who should vote.
  • Johnson ordered that land forfeited under the Confiscation Acts of 1861 and 1862, which were passed by Congress and administered by the Freedmen's Bureau, would not be redistributed to the freedmen, but instead returned to pardoned owners.
  • The Black Codes indicated that the freedmen would have more rights than they had before the war, but still only a limited set of second-class civil rights.
  • The House's primary charge against Johnson was with violation of the Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress the previous year.
  • Stanton, the secretary of war (whom the Tenure of Office Act was largely designed to protect), from office and attempted to replace him with Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas.

• Reconstruction in the South

  • Reconstruction was a remarkable chapter in the story of American freedom, but most historians consider it a failure because the region became a poverty-stricken backwater, and whites re-established their supremacy, making the freedmen second-class citizens by the start of the twentieth century.
  • Johnson ordered that land forfeited under the Confiscation Acts passed by Congress in 1861 and 1862 and administered by the Freedman's Bureau would not be redistributed to the freedmen but instead returned to pardoned owners.

• Conclusion: The Consequences of the British Parliamentary Acts

  • Outrage over the act created a degree of unity among otherwise unconnected American colonists, giving them a chance to act together both politically and socially.
  • Colonists’ joy over the repeal of the Stamp Act did not last long.
  • Like the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts led many colonists to work together against what they perceived to be an unconstitutional measure.
  • The Tea Act of 1773 triggered a reaction with far more significant consequences than either the 1765 Stamp Act or the 1767 Townshend Acts.
  • The British largely ignored the demands of the Continental Congress and tried to disarm colonial insurgents in Massachusetts by confiscating their weapons and ammunition and arresting the leaders of the patriotic movement.

• Pursuing Both War and Peace

  • When the Second Continental Congress convened in May 1775, most delegates supported John Dickinson in his efforts to reconcile with George III of Great Britain.
  • When the petition arrived, it was rejected unseen by King George III, and the Second Continental Congress was dismissed as an illegal assembly of rebels.
  • At the same time, the British also confiscated a letter authored by John Adams, which expressed frustration with attempts to make peace with the British.
  • The Second Continental Congress maintained that they still hoped to avoid a "civil war."
  • The Olive Branch Petition, issued by the Second Congress, was a final attempt at reconciliation with the British.

• The Boston Tea Party

  • Americans learned the details of the Tea Act while the ships were en route, and opposition began to mount.
  • British law required the Dartmouth to unload and pay the duties within 20 days, or customs officials could confiscate the cargo.
  • This act soon inspired further acts of resistance up and down the East Coast.
  • In Britain, this act united all parties against the colonies.
  • Evaluate the political and economic motivations that shaped the colonial response to the Tea Act

• Initial Reactions

  • Moreover, Britain and Germany both acted against U.S. shipping on the high seas, bringing sharp protests from President Woodrow Wilson.
  • Britain, which controlled the seas, stopped and searched American carriers, confiscating "contraband" bound for Germany.
  • Former president Theodore Roosevelt also denounced German acts as "piracy".

• Prohibition

  • Constitution banning alcohol was implemented through the Volstead Act, which went into effect on January 17, 1920.
  • While the commercial manufacture, sale and transport of alcohol was illegal, Section 29 of the Volstead Act allowed private citizens to make wine and cider from fruit, but not beer, in their homes.
  • In addition to this loophole, the wording of the act did not specifically prohibit the consumption of alcohol.
  • The 18th Amendment had outlawed "intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes" but did not set a limit on alcohol content, which the Volstead Act did by establishing a limit of .5% alcohol per unit.
  • Roosevelt signed an amendment to the Volstead Act known as the Cullen-Harrison Act, allowing the manufacture and sale of light wine and "3.2 beer", referring to 3.2% alcohol content.

• Enforcing the Navigation Acts

  • Later revisions of the Act added new regulations.
  • The Acts were in full force for a short time only.
  • After the second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–1667), which ended disastrously for England, the Dutch were permitted to ship commodities produced in the German hinterland to England as if these were Dutch goods.
  • On the whole, the Navigation Acts were more or less obeyed by colonists, despite their dissatisfaction, until the Molasses and Sugar Acts.
  • Describe the central stipulations of the Navigation Acts and the Acts' effects on the political and economic situation in the colonies