The Civil War, which began in April of 1861, was a war that most saw as ending by the end of the year – not one person expected it to turn into the long and drawn out slaughter that it became. It was a war that came about originally because of the secession of Southern states from the Union in the belief that the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency would render emancipation inevitable. Only white soldiers fought against each other at the outset of war but by mid-July of 1862, Henry Wilson – a Senator from Massachusetts who strongly opposed slavery – had passed a bill that allowed the President to bring African-Americans into active service in the Union army and following the Emancipation Proclamation the President finally allowed the recruitment of colored regiments. By creating a position for African-Americans in the army the status of these men in northern society was increasingly under question. This reflects recognition of the fact that as slavery became the main issue of the war something had to be done in relation to the position of these men in northern society. However, the changes that occurred could not go unnoticed by the South or by Northern whites and put a final stamp on the sectional division.
The institution of slavery and the increasing strain it brought between North and South made questions about the position of African-Americans in society increasingly prominent both amongst whites and blacks. Since they had been removed from their home environment and branded as slaves, a process beginning in 1619, the status of blacks had remained one of inferiority to white Americans. Although Lincoln originally argued that the Civil War was about keeping the Union together, a change would have to occur if the N...
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...ntry, 1863-1865. Boston: Boston Book Co., 1894.
Fitzgerald, Michael. Splendid Failure: Postwar Reconstruction in the American South. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2007.
Glatthaar, Joseph. Forged in Battle: Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers. New York: Free Press, 1990.
Greenberg, Kenneth. Masters and Statesmen: The Political Culture of American Slavery. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985.
Hapgood and Adams, eds. Western Reserve Chronicle. May 20, 1863, image 2.
Smith, John. “Let Us All Be Grateful That We Have Colored Troops That Will Fight.” In Black Soldiers in Blue: African American Troops in the Civil War Era, edited by John Smith, 1-78. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.
Williams, George. A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1888.
Glathaar, Joseph T. Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers. New York: The Free Press Inc., 1990.
Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a
The two sources chosen for evaluation are Starving the south: How the north won the civil war written by Andrew F. smith and Why the Confederacy Lost edited by Gabor S. Borrit and written by James M. McPherson. These sources are evaluated for their origin, purpose, value, and limitations
Before WORLD WAR I, military service represented a source of black pride. Black educators, clergymen, and the press frequently referred to Negro heroes of America’s past wars. After the Civil War, the U.S, Army maintained four regular Negro regiments –the 9th and 10th Calvary and the 24th and 25th Infantry. These units included veterans of the civil war and the frontier Indian fighting regiments. Retired sergeants often became respected, conservative leaders in their communities. This history set a foundation for black support and involvement in America’s future wars.
The Civil War was unlike any other war ever fought in America and had many effects on the home front for both the North and the South. It is stated to be the first ever total war, which is a war against not only the civilians but also the armies. The Civil War is also considered the first modern war fought by the U.S. troops. Lincoln asked volunteers to sign up for only three months. Many people thought the war wouldn’t last long. However, the war continued on for four years. The Union armies had around 2,500,000 to 2,750,000 men and the Confederate army had approximately 750,000 to 1,250,000 men. The entire North and South society was affected by the war and desired for many social and economic assets. The Civil war brought new military techniques which caused the armaments to be more destructive. Ironclad ships and railroads were sufficiently used within the war. The north had a motive; they wanted to weaken the South’s longing to victory. The North tried to achieve this last motive by inflicting wholesale destruction upon the South (Janda, 1995). More than a hundred people seemed to be spies or secessionists in Maryland. In time, they were arrested due to not being faithful to the union and their state. Pro-secessionist newspapers were shut down, and telegrams and mail were censored (Perret, 2004).
The Army enjoyed showing every picture of a black soldier in action or the heroic stories of certain African-Americans because there were very few instances. The classic heroic story used entailed the plight of Doris Miller, the African-American messman aboard the West Virginia who, on the invasion of Pearl Harbor, moved ?his mortally wounded captain to a place of great safety? and shot down six Japanese planes with a machine gun (Neverdon-Morton 6). Additionally, the government film, ?The Negro Soldier? depicted the army as though there were many active African-American soldiers, due to the fact that ?the War Department?s policy seems to be to give the greatest possible publicity to those very few Negro units? (Wilson 98). No matter how involved these soldiers appeared to Americans in this movie, Ruth Wilson, author of Jim Crow Joins Up, stated that it ?[?] by no means compensates for the fact that only a very small number of Negroes is being given opportunity for front...
Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T., Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, And Military History Volume 2 D-I, ABC-CLIO Inc, 2000.
Marable, Manning. Race, reform, and rebellion: the second reconstruction and beyond in Black America, 1945-2006. 3rd ed. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2007. Print
Those studying the experience of African Americans in World War II consistently ask one central question: “Was World War II a turning point for African Americans?” In elaboration, does World War II symbolize a prolongation of policies of segregation and discrimination both on the home front and the war front, or does it represent the start of the Civil Rights Movement that brought racial equality? The data points to the war experience being a transition leading to the civil rights upheavals of the 1960s.
Although the Civil War is celebrated as the time of emancipation, emancipation was not the primary issue at stake. This leads to wondering how the Emancipation Proclamation and the 14th amendment actually affected the life of the average black. If emancipation was a side effect or an afterthought, what did it really mean? Truly, although blacks were legally freed after the war, they were in many ways still enslaved to the white man. But although the majority of whites in the South did desire and often succeed in keeping the “freedmen” under their control, some few truly did desire to see blacks succeed in the world. Also, the status of blacks during the war was intriguing; for the North, blacks from the South and Northern blacks were treated the same. And that same was inferior to the whites of the North.
Perman Michael, Amy Murrell Taylor. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.
Since even before the United States has been classified as a nation, African Americans have served in armed forces. From a little village militias to the army or sailors, African Americans have stepped up to help defend and eventually earn their own freedom. The battle for unification and for recognition of black soldiers has been a slow undertaking. It wasn't until after World War II that the U.S. armed forces became fully and lawfully unified, under a 1948 executive order by President Harry S. Truman. They were “unified”; meaning that the African American troops could be in the same regiments and squads as the white men. Previously they underwent completely separate training and were assorted to their own regiments. Throughout time many groups of enlisted black men have made up the hammer which broke down the racial barriers which were all too common up until about 45 years ago. All of this had to start somewhere, which leads me to the Revolutionary War.
McPHERSON, James M. "Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction." (n.d.): n. pag. Rpt. in Major Problems in American History Series. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 10. Print.
The American Revolution was a “light at the end of the tunnel” for slaves, or at least some. African Americans played a huge part in the war for both sides. Lord Dunmore, a governor of Virginia, promised freedom to any slave that enlisted into the British army. Colonists’ previously denied enlistment to African American’s because of the response of the South, but hesitantly changed their minds in fear of slaves rebelling against them. The north had become to despise slavery and wanted it gone. On the contrary, the booming cash crops of the south were making huge profits for landowners, making slavery widely popular. After the war, slaves began to petition the government for their freedom using the ideas of the Declaration of Independence,” including the idea of natural rights and the notion that government rested on the consent of the governed.” (Keene 122). The north began to fr...
"The Debate over Slavery in the United States." The African-American Years: Chronologies of American History and Experience. Ed. Gabriel Burns Stepto. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 108-149. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 May 2014.