Alfred Green's Speech In The Civil War

The Civil War was a conflict unlike any other in American history. It was fought between brothers, both figuratively and literally, over the ideological structure on which America would be formed. What originally the North believed would be quick victory resulted in a length war marked by a substantial death toll on both sides and more collateral damage to America than ever before. The paradox of the war was that though a battle between governmental ideology, most of the Americans at the time were restricted from suffrage or even morally diminished to the worth of property. Alfred Green touches on the oppressive nature of America during this period. Instead of merely showing resent for the African American position in American culture, Green looks to inspire those of his race to back the Civil War and even volunteer for service in the Union Army. All of this in hopes to later further

Green asks his audience to “remember the past” and “ the brave deeds of (their) fathers.” What Green is not trying to establish is a disdain for the history of African Americans but rather motivation to go fight for a global cause. The past for blacks in America had been riddled by oppressive social standing. What Green wants is for African Americans to build on this harsh past. He wants his audience to look back on the past; he wants them to look at the “Revolution of 1776, and … the War of 1812 (which failed) to bring (them) recognition”; he wants “fugitive-slave laws, Dred Scott decisions, … and dreary months of imprisonment” to not be forgotten by his people; but most of all, he wants his audience to fight for what’s right. Through the war, Green which to set the precedent for an improvement in the social status of African American people. This appeal to the past persuades his audience to not buckle under the previous and present social injustices, but rather to strive to right as many social wrongdoings as