Congress continued to meet, but only considered bills concerning the military, naval and financial operations of the government in Washington City. Their Act of July 13 called for the closing of all ports, a measure that was a compromise from the original plan to blockade the ports. They were prepared within the next few days to authorize the call up of 500,000 additional Union soldiers.
Some extreme Democrats tried to block any and all measures, but were voted down each time by overwhelming margins. They sought peace negotiations throughout the entire session but got no support.
Meanwhile President Lincoln continued to treat the Confederate States of America as belligerents and their leadership as “quasi-government”, refusing to negotiate with states he considered in armed rebellion that he considered to be unconstitutional.
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