ipl-logo

African Americans In The Civil War Essay

551 Words3 Pages

During the beginning of the Civil War, African Americans were banned from enlisting into the federal army due to President Lincoln's decision. The Union stated that the war was “a white man’s war” as Ohio congressman Chilton A. White described the American government was made “for white men to be administered, protected, defended and maintained by white men”. [Book] Some slaves fled the South and were called “contraband”, coined term by General Benjamin F. Butler ; they were put to work for the Union. Despite opposition from the president, African-Americans formed militia in hope to be called for service in many areas in the North. Some blacks felt they owed no allegiance to this county. Many people in the African Methodist Episcopal Church felt no obligation to fight for a country that had oppressed them. But some blacks unofficially fought in white regiments such as Nick Biddle, the first man wounded by hostile forces in the Civil War on April 18. The reason for the opposition of blacks to fight in the war compared to the previous wars was because this war was over blacks and about slavery. …show more content…

Once Lincoln approved blacks to be men of labor in the war, the recruitment of blacks started forming as early as May 1862. General David C. Hunter started organizing “contrabands” on the Sea Islands off the Georgia coast [1]. Hunter was replaced by General Rufus Saxton who was given permission to recruit, arm and equip the First South Carolina Volunteers at Port Royal, South Carolina. Thousand of slaves made their way up North to fight on the Union lines. A sailor on the Confederate steamer Planter by the name of Robert Smalls showed courage to do so as he performed his plan to escape and turned over the ship to the Union. The Planter became property of the US Navy, but Smalls was determined invaluable to

Show More
Related

Historical Accuracy Of 'Free State Of Jones'

999 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Summary: Food Riots During The Civil War

193 Words | 1 Pages

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

Read More

Review Of Max Brooks 'Harlem Hellfighters'

1300 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More

Bobby Lovett The Negros Civil War Summary

908 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

How Did Colonel Robert Gould Shaw Recruit African American

853 Words | 4 Pages

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.”

Read More

Summary Of Nat Turner And The American Civil War

819 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Summary Of For Cause & Comrades

1118 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More

Alicia Jeffery: Role Of African Americans In The Civil War

301 Words | 2 Pages

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).

Read More

Lieber Code Of Conduct In The Civil War

108 Words | 1 Pages

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.

Read More

How Did African Americans Get Their Loyalty To The Army

442 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

How Did The Buffalo Soldiers Served During The Civil War?

357 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

What Is The Reason For The Abolition Of Slavery Dbq

253 Words | 2 Pages

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

Read More

Double Victory Takaki Analysis

669 Words | 3 Pages

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.”

Read More

Communism In Vietnam

1287 Words | 6 Pages

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

Read More

Essay On African Americans After Civil War

473 Words | 2 Pages

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..

Read More

More about African Americans In The Civil War Essay

Related Topics

Open Document