African-Americans in the Civil War - 2279 Words

The foundation for black participation in the Civil War began more than a hundred years before the outbreak of the war. Blacks in America had been in bondage since early colonial times. In 1776, when Jefferson proclaimed mankind s inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the institution of slavery had become firmly established in America. Blacks worked in the tobacco fields of Virginia, in the rice fields of South Carolina, and toiled in small farms and shops in the North. Foner and Mahoney report in A House Divided, America in the Age of Lincoln that, quot;In 1776, slaves composed forty percent of the population of the colonies from Maryland south to Georgia, but well below ten percent in the colonies to the†¦show more content†¦Lincoln thought this would both weaken the enemy and strengthen the Union. The recruitment of the blacks took laborers from the South and placed these men in the Union army in places which otherwise must be filled with so ma ny white men.quot; Lincoln also felt that seeing the blacks fighting against the Confederacy would have a psychological effect upon the South. With the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, freeing the slaves, the North began recruiting black soldiers but, as reported by Batty and Parish, this was a slow recruitment at first. In the Spring of 1863 only two black regiments existed, however, this had grown to sixty by the end of 1863. By 1864 this had expanded to 80 more regiments. Jordan provides a comprehensive account of one of the first black regiments to fight for the Union Army, the 54th Massachusetts Colored Regiment that numbered at least 1,000 soldiers. This all-volunteer regiment, lead by a white colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, helped open the 22- month land and sea assault on Charleston, South Carolina. Leading an unsuccessful hand-to-hand attack on Fort Wagner in Charleston, this regiment engaged in one of the most famous black actions of the Civil War and suffered app roximately 44 percent casualties, including Colonel Shaw.Show MoreRelatedAfrican Americans And The Civil War1076 Words   |  5 Pages Throughout history African Americans have had is bad in the United States. First they went through slavery which lasted about two hundred year and was ended around the Civil War which was in the 1860s-1870s. Next after they went through slavery they went through the law of Jim Crow that started after the Civil War which stated, â€Å"Separate but Equal†, and that was not the case because African Americans were still treated as second class citizens. After about ninety years around the 1960s Dr. MartinRead MoreAfrican Americans and the Civil War774 Words   |  4 PagesEssay African Americans and the Civil War Slavery affected many of the political reasons that contributed to causing the Civil War in 1961. Most in the Northern states including President Lincoln were more concerned with preserving the Union rather than fighting for the freedom of all. On the other hand the South fought to preserve what they believed to be absolute state rights. However the overall goals of the war were altered significantly by the willingness of African Americans during war. ThisRead MoreAfrican Americans And The Civil War1449 Words   |  6 PagesWhen the Civil War began, they wanted to take part in fighting to free all slaves. At the end of the civil war passed the civil rights act that gave citizenship to people that are born in the united states, years later African American men were given the right to vote. This might give equal rights but African Americans are still being discriminated. Almost century later, African Americans are still being discriminated. They got jobs and their kids go to school, but more notice that it wasn t rightRead MoreThe Civil War On African Americans Essay1421 Words   |  6 PagesThe years preceding the Civil War were monstrous for African Americans located in the South of the country. Northerners and Southerners would argue that their visions of how society is structured is the right way and should be expanded throughout the nation. Southerners claimed that slavery is okay, and it’s a positive labor system. On the contrary, Northerners claim that laborers should be paid by wage, men should have equal opportunities, and slaves should gain freedom. The four most significantRead MoreAfrican American And The Civil War876 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1865, when the civil war ended in America and slavery was abolished, the African American population in the South faced many challenges related to their new found freedom. Following the pos t-Civil War Reconstruction period, white supremacy resurfaced in the South (AE Television, 2015). Beginning in the early 1900s through 1970 there was a mass exodus of African American s from South to North America. Although some African American s were known to have moved from the South as early as 1850Read MoreThe Civil War Of African Americans1010 Words   |  5 Pagescentury. For an African American, the word â€Å"life† evolved from a word that meant absolutely nothing, to a word that stood for an individual’s highest commodity. After the civil war, emancipation for slaves transformed from a dream to a reality. Although the civil war finally ended in 1865 after four years of fighting, certain citizens and groups across the nation still remained in a state if disagreement with the freedom granted to African Americans. The years after the civil war revolutionizedRead MoreAfrican Americans And The Civil War1309 Words   |  6 PagesIn the summer of 1619, the fir st Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia not to live as free settlers but as subordinate slaves. They worked strenuously for Whites, who considered themselves superior to Africans, without much benefit. Racism is not just the belief that one race is superior to others, but the act of negatively identifying individuals based on the color of their skin. Attributing race to individual character has proven to have negative implications that are difficult to mend.Read MoreAfrican Americans And The Civil War1540 Words   |  7 Pageshistorical backdrop of the United States, African Americans have dependable been victimized. When Africans first came to America, they had no choice but to be slaves. The progressed toward becoming slaves to the rich, covetous, lethargic Americans. African Americans had given no compensation and regularly whipped and beaten. They battled for their opportunity, yet when the Civil War came African Americans had this logic that if they were to join the Ci vil War they could liberate all slaves. HoweverRead MoreAfrican Americans And The Civil War859 Words   |  4 Pagesslavery, predominately in the American South, African-Americans were finally set free from bondage. The fourteenth and fifteenth amendments quickly followed, granting citizenship to â€Å"all persons born or naturalized in the United States† and granting African American men the right to vote, respectively. Naturally, Americans denoted these momentous legislative feats, collectively packaged as the Reconstruction Amendments, as a means of celebration for African-Americans. However, in order to rectifyRead MoreAfrican Americans in the Civil War1971 Words   |  8 PagesAnderson HIST 3060 February 25, 13 African Americans and the Civil War The role African Americans played in the outcome, and the road to the outcome of the Civil War was immense. The fact that the south had slaves and the north did not played an enormous role in the issues. The north wanted to abolish slavery, and the south did not and after the war started this became one of the main reasons for the Civil War. Since most African Americans could not read or write, this made them an easy