Essay On The Effects Of The Civil War On African American Women

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Christian Perrin Professor Foster U.S. history to 1877 Mar 9, 2023 Effects women and African Americans had in the Civil War While the Civil War was dominated by white men they were not the only ones who played a part in The Civil War. Women and African Americans also participated in the war effort on both sides. From the women who watched over their husband’s farms to the African Americans that partook in deadly battles, they both played a large role in influencing both sides of The Civil War. The women of The Civil War were left by their husbands that went to war to watch over the land, raise the children, and take care of the house, but the women did more than just stay at home. Most prominently they inspected military camps with the goal of improving cleanliness and reducing the number of soldiers who died from disease(Corbett 393). With disease claiming the most casualties in the war their ability to come into camps and help treat disease saved thousands of lives. Women did not stop there. They raised money, got jobs, took care of …show more content…

At first all the African Americans of both sides could do was watch and wait as the Union and the Confederacy fought, but when Abrahm Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and congress passed the act that let people of color enlist they got their chance. At first there were not many enlisters, but with endorsements from Frederick Fouglas and the promise of citizenship enlistment picked up. “By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army.”(Black Soldiers in the U.S.). Free African Americans were not the only ones to make a difference in the outcome of the way. Enslaved African Americans started riots from within the south and caused a raucous from within the Confederate States. Both played a great part in securing freedom for