US History

U.S. History Study Guide

exemption clause, the Conscription Act ended up encouraging corruption and class sectionalism, "poor man's fight, rich man's war". The Conscription Act turned into open revolt months later. Uprisings flared in some major cities and in July of 1863 a three day riot broke out in New York City. A mob of fifty-thousand strong turned out to protest the injustice of what they termed the "rich man's exemption." Many of which were Irish immigrants, some pulled right off the boat and into the war. Lincoln had no choice but to send in Union troops to control the mayhem. When the troops were provoked into opening fire one-thousand civilians were killed or wounded. The National Bank Act 1863 The Union was all but bankrupt by 1862, and Lincoln turned to other measures beyond the income tax to ease the pressure. Goods and manufactures were placed under heavy taxes, and tariffs rose steadily; five-hundred million dollars of war bonds were issued to help boost the economy. Confiscation of Property The right of private property proved especially vulnerable as the war rolled on. Two major confiscation acts provided the military with permission to seize and retain rebel property, including slaves. Even General Lee's former mansion was subject to this as it would later become Arlington Cemetery. In later Union campaigns the confiscation and destruction of Southern civilian lands and stores was common. All of these constitutional violations were justified by Lincoln at various times as necessary to the success of the war effort. 13.18 Helping the Union Settle the West The Homestead Act and Morrill Land Grant Act 1862 To promote the settlement of the West, Congress passed the Homestead Act in 1862, which offered one hundred and sixty acres to anyone who would cultivate and improve the land. Much of the western land given was not good for farming, which ended up taken by cattle ranchers and railroad builders. The Morrill Land Grant Act provided land grants, so that the new western states could fund to build a system of industrial colleges, and creating agriculture colleges, so that lower-class people, like farmers and people of the working-class could have greater access to more advanced education. The Transcontinental Railroad One way Congress kept people thinking about the expanding West during the war was by extending the railroad network. In 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act, which chartered the Union

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