Confiscation Acts, (1861–64), in U.S. history, series of laws passed by the federal government during the American Civil War that were designed to liberate slaves in the seceded states. The First Confiscation Act, passed on Aug. 6, 1861, authorized Union seizure of rebel property, and it stated that all slaves who fought with or worked for the Confederate military services were freed of further obligations to their masters.
Following Texas' successful war of independence against Mexico in 1836, President Martin van Buren refrained from annexing Texas after the Mexicans threatened war.
