President Abraham Lincoln issued the “eye-for-eye” order on July 30, 1863, during the Civil War as part of his efforts to address the treatment of African American prisoners by the Confederacy. This order was a response to the Confederacy’s policy of executing Black Union soldiers and enslaving Black prisoners of war. In the order, Lincoln warned the Confederacy that for every Black soldier or civilian killed or enslaved, the Union would retaliate by executing or condemning to hard labor an equivalent number of Confederate prisoners.

The intent behind this order was to deter the Confederacy from continuing such harsh and inhumane treatment of Black prisoners, as well as to exert pressure on the Confederate government. It had a significant restraining influence on Confederate actions, as the Confederacy, recognizing the Union’s resolve, generally took more care in the treatment of Black prisoners after this point.

This move highlights Lincoln’s moral stance on the rights of Black individuals during the war, and it was one of the ways in which the Union sought to weaken the Confederate cause while strengthening its commitment to ending slavery.