African Americans in the Civil War
African Americans in the Civil War
In the history of the United States, discrimination was something that African Americans faced painfully in the Civil War era and which continues to happen on a milder scale in today’s society. When African Americans first came to America, they were forced to perform manual labor against their will. Greedy, rich, lazy Americans called themselves superior to the “different, dark-skinned” people who slowly became slaves to the whites. In bondage, they received no pay and were physically abused. Their struggle for freedom saw no hope until the Civil War became inevitable. When the war began, African Americans united in the fight to free all slaves of their kind. Although it did not come easily, the opportunity finally came for blacks to serve as soldiers and fight alongside white men, and they proved their ability to withstand the hardships of battle and become distinguished American heroes. The road to emancipation was a long and hard one for African Americans. The northern states joined the Civil War in the fight to oppose and prevent succession of the Confederate states from the Union. The president at the time, Abraham Lincoln, had a main goal of preserving the Union by bringing the Confederacy back, but ironically, in his letter to Horace Greeley, the “Great Emancipator” stated that he would “save the Union without freeing any slave”1 if he could. Lincoln’s paramount objective was to prevent the war from occurring. However, he could not prevent the outbreak of runaway slaves yearning to contribute to their own freedom.
The issues of emancipation and military service were linked by the happening of the Civil War. African Americans tended to be one of two statuses: enslaved by white plantation owners or enlisted in the U.S. military units. As Southern slave masters grew increasingly more fearful of losing slaves to the Union army, they tightened restrictions on the slaves. It was not uncommon that a master would go so far
In the history of the United States, discrimination was something that African Americans faced painfully in the Civil War era and which continues to happen on a milder scale in today’s society. When African Americans first came to America, they were forced to perform manual labor against their will. Greedy, rich, lazy Americans called themselves superior to the “different, dark-skinned” people who slowly became slaves to the whites. In bondage, they received no pay and were physically abused. Their struggle for freedom saw no hope until the Civil War became inevitable. When the war began, African Americans united in the fight to free all slaves of their kind. Although it did not come easily, the opportunity finally came for blacks to serve as soldiers and fight alongside white men, and they proved their ability to withstand the hardships of battle and become distinguished American heroes. The road to emancipation was a long and hard one for African Americans. The northern states joined the Civil War in the fight to oppose and prevent succession of the Confederate states from the Union. The president at the time, Abraham Lincoln, had a main goal of preserving the Union by bringing the Confederacy back, but ironically, in his letter to Horace Greeley, the “Great Emancipator” stated that he would “save the Union without freeing any slave”1 if he could. Lincoln’s paramount objective was to prevent the war from occurring. However, he could not prevent the outbreak of runaway slaves yearning to contribute to their own freedom.
The issues of emancipation and military service were linked by the happening of the Civil War. African Americans tended to be one of two statuses: enslaved by white plantation owners or enlisted in the U.S. military units. As Southern slave masters grew increasingly more fearful of losing slaves to the Union army, they tightened restrictions on the slaves. It was not uncommon that a master would go so far