The Role Of African Americans After The Civil War

African American and Women During and After the Civil War The struggle to gain equal rights for African Americans and women has been a constant battle for years and still remains a struggle today. Throughout American history, these two groups have faced discrimination and have been suffocated of many of their rights as individuals. During the Civil War, it altered the roles of African Americans and women from both a social and political viewpoint. In the course of the war, the Confiscation Acts, Emancipation Proclamation, and other policies took place that drastically changed the way people looked at African Americans from a social and political point of view. Women also made significant breakthroughs during the time of war, in which they
However, these momentous successes for both African Americans and women were just the beginning of the difficult journey they would have ahead of them for the years to come. The Civil War marked a new chapter for African Americans and women, but also opened the doors to a number of challenges and hardships that they would have to overcome. From the earliest times in history, African Americans have always been treated with disgrace. As the Civil War progressed, the Confiscation Act was put into effect. Through this new policy, it stated that all slaves being used to aid or support the Confederate Army would be freed. Soon other laws followed suit, that began abolishing slavery in areas such as Washington D.C. and westward territories. These new statutes demonstrated an extreme transformation in which many people began viewing African Americans as real human beings rather than slaves. Similar to the first
Women were typically subjected to the household and taking care of the children. However, with many husbands fighting in the war it left many women to finding jobs outside the home to help provide for their families. Some of the jobs that women took over for men included being teachers, retail salesclerks, office workers, supervising the farm and large slave workforces, and working the mill and factory hands. The most popular field that women entered during the Civil War was nursing. At one time nursing was a field dominated by males, but by the 1900s nursing had become a common career for females to enter. However, in the beginning many male doctors were not accepting of women becoming nurses because they believed they were incapable of working in the medical field. Many women became offended by these comments and felt that they deserved more credit for the hard work they were doing. It is obvious that the Civil War not only allowed women to see the many accomplishments that they were capable of achieving, but it also sparked a new movement to fight for equality among women. Essential figures emerged including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who fought vigorously for the rights women deserved. Organizations such as the National Woman’s Loyal League in 1863, worked towards granting women the right to vote. The Civil