Manumission was an important abolition event in the history of the Confederate States. During the Second Mexican War (1881-1882), Britain and France made clear that they would continue their alliance with the CSA only if slavery were abolished. With this in mind, CS President James Longstreet drafted a plan to do this in a way that would not be too disruptive to Confederate society.
Slavery was formally abolished with the passing of a Confederate constitutional amendment. Its ratification by the youngest Confederate states of Sonora and Chihuahua, whose purchase from the Empire of Mexico had caused the war in the first place, and had no slavery or meaningful black population, was critical to the amendment becoming a reality. Because of this, some white Confederates from outside bitterly thought that they had become states too soon to understand their new country.[1]
At the time the CSA started discussing the abolition of slavery seriously, the only other country with legal slavery left in the Americas was the Empire of Brazil, which already had a program of gradual emancipation of its own.[2]
Although slavery was abolished, Confederate blacks had only a moderate reason to celebrate. They were made residents of the CSA, but denied citizenship, which meant that they could not vote in government elections. They were also segregated from white society, had to follow requirements such as showing passbooks and not being allowed legal surnames, and were generally relegated to the lower rungs of society.
References[]
- ↑ American Front, pg. 18.
- ↑ How Few Remain, pg. 35.
