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Difficulty: EasyPolitical and Social Impacts of the Civil War

Read the excerpt below.

"I. The islands from Charleston, south, the abandoned rice fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. Johns river, Florida, are reserved and set apart for the settlement of the negroes now made free by the acts of war and the proclamation of the President of the United States.
II. ...on the islands, and in the settlements hereafter to be established, no white person, unless military officers and soldiers detailed for duty, will be permitted to reside..."
— Major General William T. Sherman, Special Field Orders No. 15, January 1865

Which of the following was a primary purpose of the military order excerpted above?

  1. To provide land and temporary autonomy to newly emancipated African Americans.Answer
  2. B
    To enforce the voting rights of newly freed people under the Fifteenth Amendment.
  3. C
    To implement popular sovereignty so local residents could vote on the expansion of slavery.
  4. D
    To fulfill the requirements of Congressional Radical Reconstruction policies.

Answer

To provide land and temporary autonomy to newly emancipated African Americans.
The correct option is correct because Major General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Orders No. 15 in January 1865 to deal with the thousands of freedpeople following his army. The order set aside coastal land (the 'Sherman land') to provide them with land to cultivate and a temporary degree of autonomy, addressing immediate social and economic challenges.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context and content of the stimulus.
The stimulus is an excerpt from Major General William T. Sherman's Special Field Orders No. 15, issued in January 1865, which sets aside coastal land in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida for exclusive settlement by freedpeople.
Understanding the timing (late Civil War) and the provisions of the order helps identify its immediate intent.
2
Evaluate the choices against the timing and nature of the order.
The order aimed to address the immediate economic and social crisis of thousands of refugees following Union troops. It did not relate to later political measures like the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) or Radical Reconstruction (starting in 1867), nor did it apply popular sovereignty.
This step distinguishes the correct wartime social policy from later political and legislative developments.

Key Concept

The wartime actions and policy measures taken to address the immediate social and economic needs of freedpeople during the Civil War.
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Political and Social Impacts of the Civil War

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