On July 17, 1862, Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act, which was an important step toward granting freedom to enslaved African Americans during the Civil War. This law allowed the Union Army to seize the property (including enslaved people) of those who supported the Confederacy and declared that enslaved individuals who escaped to Union lines would be freed.

This legislation was part of the growing movement within Congress and the Union Army to undermine slavery in Confederate states. It paved the way for further emancipation measures, including President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate states.

The passing of this act represented a significant shift in the federal government’s stance on slavery and showed the growing support for African American freedom during the Civil War. It marked a critical point in the fight for emancipation and the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States.