African Americans In The Civil War Essay

In 1861, the Confederate government allowed the arming of slaves to fight for them in the Civil War because of the increasing shortage of capable white men in the South. Many slaveholders refused it, not wanting

Free State of Jones is a historically accurate movie with its’ depiction of characters, events, setting, and details of the famous revolt of farmers in Jones County, Mississippi. The movie Free State of Jones is based off the Jones County rebellion of 1863. In the Jones County rebellion of 1863, Newton Knight and other small farmers enlisted into the Confederate Army, however most small farmers became deserters when the Confederacy passed the Second Conscription Act. The Second Conscription Act, otherwise known as the “20 negro law” made it to where if a soldier in the Confederate army owned 20 slaves or more were exempt from fighting.

The Harlem Hellfighters,” was written by Max Brooks was published April 1, 2014. Brooks comic recounts the obstacles and hazards the 369th infantry regiment faced during World War I. The 369th infantry regiment was largely African American, during the time the comic takes place African Americans were facing racial issues whether it be in the states during boot camp or in a foreign country fighting on the frontline. Brooks illustrates the issues these men faced when fighting for their country and how they were treated for their service. World War I was a graphic and violent war however, how military officials treated African American soldiers was appalling.

Bobby L. Lovett writing for the Journal of Negro History gives an account of African -Americans in the Civil War, in his article the “The Negros Civil War 1861-1865”. Lovett opens his article by explaining how Tennessee officially seceded on June 8 1861, and how eight months later taken the state was over by the Union Army. In the first part of his article, Lovett gives us some background information about how the Confederacy and the state of Tennessee planned on using the “quasifree” African-Americans. Lovett goes on to explain how some free blacks of the city of Nashville sided with the Confederacy along with the captured slaves, and servants. Although some fought for the Confederacy, most fled to the Union line to enlist in the Union Army

In the early 19th century, slavery had been the main issue in America. The issue of slavery got critical that it separated America. The north (Union) prohibited slavery in America, while the south (Confederate) allowed slavery. However, majority of African-Americans were treated poorly in America. In the Union Army, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was given “to raise and command one of the first regiments of African American troops in the Union army, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, by Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew.”

A. The Early Republic and the American Civil War A1a. Primary source A is Nat Turner. Turner was a slave who lived in southeastern Virginia who aimed to become a preacher. He also learned to read and write.

They had to be, for some other traditional reasons that have caused men to fight in organized armies had little relevance in the Civil War” (5-6). McPherson then supplements his thesis by borrowing three major themes from historian John A. Lynn: “initial motivation” or why men choose to

Alicia Jeffery When the United States erupted into civil war in 1861, the status of African Americans in this country was that of both a free and enslaved people. African Americans were left uncertain about their future, their freedom and their status in American society once the war came to an end in 1865. The Northern states fought to preserve the union, but the Southern states, furious about that 1860 election of President Lincoln, succeeded from the Union with the intent to preserve the institution of slavery (Jeffery 1).

But there were other unique obstacles in their way, which Johnson turned to the president to address. She made clear to Lincoln that she had weighed the pros and cons of her son’s enlistment beforehand. She even considered the horror that he might be taken prisoner. Confederates identified black soldiers as slave insurrectionists, regardless of their antebellum status. They released their wrath on captives in the form of summary executions and re-enslavement, as if they had engaged in high treason against the Southern nation-state.

However, most blacks never got to serve in combat units and most were limited to the labor battalions. The Marines wouldn 't let African Americans serve at all. The Navy and Coast Guard did but they gave them the lowest jobs they could. The 9th and 10th Calvary and the 24th and 25th Infantry were the first all-black regiments but they were only used in the US and were not used in combat roles overseas. They were so frustrated because they were good fighters and they felt like they may never get a chance to prove themselves.

African Americans have served proudly in every great American war. Over two hundred thousand African American servicemen fought during the Civil War. In 1866 through an act of congress, legislation was adopted to create six all African American army units. The African Americans can only serve west of the Mississippi River because the attitude of the civil war. They were given the name because their fierce, was nature like the way buffalos fought.

In fact, slaves were fleeing the South to reach the Union’s lines and even join its military.

Post Civil War, African Americans started to gain rights to gain rights, and soon gain rights equal to whites. While there were some people/things standing in their way (KKK, Black Codes), in the end they got what they needed; Equality. Many acts and laws were passed to aid the new rights now held by African Americans, as well as the numerous people willing to help. New Amendments were added to give African Americans rights after the war, all giving them some equal rights to whites. The first of the three added was the Thirteenth Amendment, it gave African Americans freedom from slave owners, and stated that no one could be kept as a slave in the U.S..

Many of the soldiers on the front line were black men. They were fighting for freedom and equality, which was something that they did not have at home. This behavior during the civil war was commonly known as “A black man fighting a white man's war”. The statement in the constitution stating that “All men are created equal” violated time and time again during this

Roosevelt signed into law the Selective Service Act. This act included the prohibition of an integrated of black and white regimes. President Roosevelt’s refusal to allow a mixed army prompted anger and disbelief in the African-American community. George Schuyler opposed the Jim Crow army and stated “Our war is not with Hitler in Europe, but against Hitler in America. Our war is not to defend democracy, but to get a democracy we’ve never had.”