Which controversial action allowed the Union to seize Confederate properties, including enslaved individuals?

The Confiscation Acts were significant pieces of legislation during the Civil War that enabled the Union to seize Confederate property, including enslaved individuals. The first Confiscation Act, passed in 1861, declared that any enslaved people who escaped to Union lines were to be considered free and allowed the Union forces to confiscate Confederate property utilized in support of the rebellion. This legislation marked a shift in the war's purpose, highlighting the Union's commitment to undermine the Confederacy's economic and social structures.

As the war progressed, the ability to seize enslaved individuals not only disrupted the Confederate labor force but also served as a means to weaken the Southern economy. The second Confiscation Act, enacted in 1862, extended these provisions and authorized the military to liberate enslaved people in Confederate-controlled territories, further establishing the Union's stance on slavery in relation to the war effort.

In contrast, the Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1863, declared the freedom of all enslaved individuals in Confederate-held territory, but it did not specifically address the seizure of property. The Civil Rights Act primarily aimed to protect the rights of freedmen post-war, and the Homestead Act focused on providing land to settlers in the West, unrelated