Preview

African Americans In The Civil War Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
562 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
African Americans In The Civil War Essay
Slave or soldier: The terrible fates of African-Americans during the Civil War

The role of African-Americans in the war and what they did when they served in the army. The Fugitive Slave Act was introduced in 1793. The role of an African-American in the Civil War from 1776-1783 had an effect for both the Union and the Confederates. The north was mainly called the Union but also fell victim to the name of Billy Yank, Jayhawkers, and more commonly known as the Yankees. The South on the other hand were sometimes called the Rebs for rebels and also the Graybacks. The Civil War began when several southern states seceded from the union by joining the Confederate States of America. The south seceded in a response to president Lincoln’s anti-slavery law. As the Civil War began, free black men came and volunteered for the Union. President Abraham Lincoln also feared that accepting black men into the military would cause border states like Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri to secede. Free black men were finally permitted to enlist late in 1862, following the passage of the Second Confiscation and Militia Act, which freed slaves who had masters in the Confederate Army, according to Paul D. Escott, an author of the article
…show more content…

These roles included work as a nurse, cooks, and blacksmiths. Blacks also served in the Confederate army. However, the majority of the south wouldn’t arm blacks so they used them as labor. Blacks worked on building fortifications and to carry out camp duties. A few slaves would even be brought to camp to tend to their masters and what needs they might have. Escott also states that, At the midpoint of the war in 1863, when more Confederate soldiers were needed, state militias of freed black men were offered to the Confederate war office but refused. The Confederates didn’t consider arming African-American troops until January 2 of 1864 when Confederate major general Patrick Cleburne proposed

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Confederate officials were shortsighted in failing to use slaves as soldiers. Many confederate leaders feared an uprising once the Negroes were given arms. Others opposed the use of slaves on grounds that the Negroes were ill-prepared for such high responsibility. Not until March 1865 did the confederate government authorize the recruitment of 200000 negroes as soldiers. A few all-black units were mustered into the southern service, but none was sent into combat.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil War DBQ Essay

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” This statement that created by President Abraham Lincoln demonstrates the necessity of the Civil War. If the United States were to remain divided, the strength of these two nations would be degraded and allow the continuation of an immoral practice; slavery. “Politicians, business leaders, newspaper editors, and others desperately sought a last-ditch compromise that would keep other states from following South Carolina...no compromise on Earth could reverse the election of Abraham Lincoln and the Southern fears of a “Black Republican” administration” (Roberts 50). As various groups split within the nation, the…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Not only did sailors play a big part in the Civil War, so did soldiers. Not including the Union Navy, about 180,000 African-Americans served in the Union Army. Since white soldiers believed black men lacked the courage to fight, blacks were given the chance to show whites the amount of courage they possessed, giving them a chance for equal rights. Until 1962, Abraham Lincoln feared letting African-Americans into the military.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning, they weren’t allowed to fight. The cause of the war at first was to keep the country together. As the war progressed, Lincoln’s view changed. It was no longer just about uniting the broken United States. It was about a bigger picture. The lives of actual people who meant the world to God. So in December of 1865, Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. The single document that declared freedom for all blacks in the United States. It states that slavery and involuntary servitude would no longer exist in the United States. Slavery had been declared illegal and unjust, and this path of freedom would light the way for others determined for civil…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout the Civil War African Americans suffered greatly because of discrimination and because of their attempted escape from slavery. Thousands of the free blacks in the Union volunteered to serve in the Union army and to fight against the Confederacy. Although they risked their lives, they were not treated very well. At the start of the war, colored volunteers were forbidden to enter the army. Congress, however, changed that in 1862, a year into the Civil War.…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the Civil War, Confederate soldiers were allowed to hold office. This allowed Southerners to pass laws that helped end Reconstruction. During Reconstruction African Americans started to have rights that whites had, like voting rights. After Confederate soldiers began to hold office, they immediately created laws against blacks such as Jim Crow laws and Black Codes. Both of these were similar in that they restricted blacks from doing common things like voting and having jobs.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Civil War was one of the most tragic wars in American history. More Americans died in all different wars. When the civil war happened our world was all torn apart. While slavery was not officially outlawed until the passage of the 13th amendment, the slaves were set free upon the end of the war.…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    These soldiers are currently fighting for their freedom. In the beginning they were not able to fight because the Confederacy and the Union thought they would be useless, so they are in charge of being able to feed the soldiers and help out. Now they are allowed to fight with either side and that is fantastic! All the black soldiers think that at the end of the war they are going to get their freedom from slavery, and they should because slavery is a terrible aspect. All the slaves that are fighting right now, think that they are worth more than they actually are at the moment. Some slaves aren’t allowed to fight but the ones that are, are very lucky. All black soldiers should be able to fight for their freedom (Council in Foreign Relations).…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine fighting a war for the freedom of a country in which you yourself were not free. Could you fight for a country that had enslaved you, a place where you have few or no civil rights? Throughout the history of American wars, these were the types of issues that African Americans had to deal with. They were forced, and many times volunteered, to serve, protect, defend, and preserve the freedom of the United States. They went to war for a country in which they were segregated, treated unequally, and in early times, not even considered a person. At first, African Americans joined the military to fight for freedom from slavery. Later, the reason they joined evolved into a battle for equality…

    • 2094 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Serving For Freedom Did you know when the civil war started in 1861 African Americans were not allowed in the army? It wasn’t until January 1st 1863 when they allowed African Americans to slowly make their way into the army. On January 1st Lincoln enforced the emancipation proclamation; declaring all slaves in the North states free. The African Americans would participate in tasks like spying and guiding soldiers through familiar lands as an advantage.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Living back then in 1900’s for African Americans wasn’t easy at all. Dealing with slavery the African Americans had gotten the chance to enlist in the military as some of them did, they had thought that by doing so maybe on their return home and by doing right by fighting they would be looked upon as soldiers instead of slaves. “It was seen that though the African Americans comprised just 10 percent of the US population, 13 percent of the inductees were blacks.” The African Americans knew that enlisting the army wouldn’t be easy for them, but they had hoped that in doing so they would gain respect.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1865, the Confederacy finally allowed slaves to enlist but not many slaves actually did. African Americans served in the Confederate Army, both slave labor force and some in exchange for freedom. Other slaves also tended to their master's needs while in camp instead of fighting or building forts. Legislation that would free African American slaves if they enlisted in the Confederate Army was passed on March 13th, 1865, although not many (less than 50) enslaved African Americans enlisted before the war ended. Some slaves were brought into the Confederate Army in order to keep watch over their master's personal items and if he was killed, the slave brought them back to the master's family.…

    • 1311 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Civil War would go down in history as a moral crusade, and in the efforts to free black slaves, many heroes would emerge. During 1861 to 1870, African Americans would heavily influence the outcome of the civil war, as well as what would happen after the war. African Americans played both active roles in the civil war and reform afterwards, but both roles were critical to the more modernized plans that would be created. One active member that positively affected the civil war was Frederick Douglass. He was a black man who escaped slavery and became a leader of the abolitionist movement; he was on the brink of a changing social movement, and expressed his beliefs through books.…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Civil War Essay

    • 398 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Civil War was being fought by a nation divided. Although the Union and Confederacy both believed that there should be a national government, the North was more economically advanced while the South was dependent upon slavery.…

    • 398 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    During the American Revolution in the 1770s, African Americans soldiers participated in valor. Some were fighting for the Britain colonialists while others were fighting for American patriots in their struggle for independence. The slaves fought alongside their masters so that they could get human rights and freedoms enjoyed by other Americans. During this time, slavery was at peak, and most African Americans were under servitude and gross abuse of their rights (Matthews 369). Slaves imported from Africa and other parts of the world were sold to slave masters especially in the North. When the revolutionary war ended, most soldiers who participated in the war for both sides won their freedom. There is a rich history on the role of slaves in the…

    • 1620 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays