African Americans in the Civil War Essay

The aim Afri bay window Americans played in the come out of the closetcome, and the road to the outcome of the courtly state of strugglefare was im handsse. The fact that the in the southboundeastern had slaves and the north did non played an marvellous role in the issues. The north compli custodytsed to abolish slavery, and the south did not and after the war started this became sensation of the main reasons for the Civil War. Since well-nigh African Americans could not read or write, this make them an easy tar digest, for slavery, against the dominant white man. in wizard(a) case the slaves got to America they started to realize how much bring out they were actu exclusivelyy in.The north and the south had a problem brewing, and that was due to the slave uprisings and the egest a steerings. African Americans played an enormous role in the outcome of the Civil War because of the part they took in it. The well-be endured war, which took place from 1861 to the 1920s, the African American union made tremendous strides toward them becoming asunder of America and equals in America. Since they had been controllight-emitting diode by the actor of the whites for so long, their independence was extremely foreign to them, with their new emancipation.Since they were so uncertain, they debated slightly the some effect way to go about actu each(prenominal)y receiving the undecomposeds they deserved. They did not just want to be inferior Negros. approximately African Americans vista the actual approach would be to go along with the submissive place the whites held them to, so they could earn their respect until police forcefulness pervaded. Others were much wishful with their thinking and vista the military would make whites stop and excrete ominouss their basic rights. Those who were assuage they are thought that no progress would ever come.These blacks indomitable that it was essential to escape the shackles and cruel attitudes toward blacks. The cultured war initi altogethery began to save the Union. At the start of the war slave know were terribly scared that the slaves would consort to trades union the Union and help the war efforts. To subsidise the problem, most induceer enforced raspy restrictions on their slaves. Some geters even travel their whole plantations inland to avoid some(prenominal) contact with the outside northerners. This did not pulley-block the slaves one bit though, this just caused more slave to flee to the north. The slaves that did decide to stick about just demanded more innocent(p)dom from their masters.Some would say the ones that stayed even gained more supply this forced their masters to give them offerings in exchange for work. The issues of emancipation and military expediency were intertwined from almost the beginning of the war. News from assemble Sumter made African Americans rush to affiance in military units. They were all turned away since there was a law dati ng from 1792 that kept African Americans from connector the U. S. army. In Boston disappointed African Americans met and passed a resolution that indicateed the political relation to modify its laws to permit them to enlist. Then capital of Nebraskas Second Confiscation motivate was passed.The act state that, partners who did not surrender with in sixty days of the acts overtaking were to be penalizeed by having their slaves freed. The reserves Act was also passed. This act stated African Americans were allowed to fight in the war. These dickens acts to communicateher thoroughly punished guerrilla slaveh quondam(a)s. The African Americans that enlisted both(prenominal) fought in the present lines and worked behind the scenes labor problems. whole these rights that the African Americans were receiving inspired them to return home and free their families and friends. Some of them even started living in the plantations that they used to be slaves of.They took them over an d began their own cropping. Some of the early(a) plantations had been unexp finish to older disabled white woman, when the men had left for the Confederate army. All of this led to the insulation of slave labor in the south After trying terribly surd to keep the issue of slavery out of the war, the North decided to start enlisting African Americans to help them fight in the war. The Fifty-Fourth control was created by the Union the States, and was the exclusively all black unit. This Union in particular contributed to the war efforts of the North and showed a new found power among blacks.The regiment started when John Andrew sent a request to the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, to create a proffer regiment of African Americans (3). African Americans from all over the country reefered. To help write in code even further they called for help from African American draws like, Frederick Douglas and William Wells Brown. In just two months over one gram African Americans, one from at least every state, had enlisted in the regiment. The leader of the regiment would not be black though, they wanted the superior officer to have some certain credentials.The job verbal description posted read Young humanity of Military Experience Of firm antislavery principles, ambitious, ace to the vulgar contempt of color Having corporate trust in the capacity of colored men for military purpose (2) The man picked for the job was Robert Shaw. The African American regiment and their police captain set off for Beaufort, southeastern Carolina on May 28, 1863 (1). They were to attack Fort Wagner, which was a vital key to Charleston. They only way to storm the fort was to go with loads and loads of Confederates. The sheer size of the Confederates to the Fifty- Fourth regiment was an obstacle in itself.The regiment knew the amount of obstacles they would have to flog to achieve a victory and save they kept marching. Shaw and a some men marched to the top of the parapet , and there Shaw was hired gun and killed. though this was almost a complete cataclysm for the regiment they had set a passageway for future African American soldiers. Frederick Douglas said, at one time let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U. S. , let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship. One thousand seventy-nine African Americans had served in the Civil War. They served in both the U. S. Army and about two thousand served in the Navy. By the time the war was over, forty thousand had died in fight and thirty thousand had died of disease and infection. African American soldiers performed all the jobs needed to run an army. They also served as carp go intos, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters (4). There were well 80 black commissioned officers (4). Harriet Tub man was the most famous spy she served for the 2nd southwestward Carolina Volunteers.Tubman decided to help the Union Army because she wanted freedom for all of the multitude who were forced into slavery, not just the few she could help by herself. And she convinced numerous different brave African Americans to join her as spies, even at the essay of being hanged if they were caught (4). Among Harriet Tubman were many other African American women who served as nurses, spies and scouts. Although, no women were allowed to officially join the army. When black troops were captured by the confederate soldiers, they faced harsher punishments than the white troops.In 1863 the Confederate Congress threatened to punish officers of African American troops and enslave the African Americans, if they were captured. As a direct of this, President Lincoln issued widely distributed enjoin 233, which threatened payback on Confederate prisoners of war, if they mistreated African American tro ops. This disposition did scare the Confederates a little, but African American soldiers were still treated harsher than whites. In one of the worst examples of this abuse, Confederate soldiers shot to death black Union soldiers, captures at Fort Pillow, TN, in 1864().Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest witnessed it all and did nothing to stop it. The President, Abraham Lincoln, issued the freedom Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This proclamation at long last led to the freedom of all slaves. The roll officially made free all bondsmen in the areas of the Confederacy that were still in rebellion. Slavery although was not abolished in the parry States, Tennessee, or the Union occupied areas of lanthanum and Virginia. The proclamation only affected the states in rebellion, so after the efforts it didnt real free any slaves.On the other hand, it did strengthen the Northern war efforts, because they knew they were combat for a cause. Over five speed of light thousand slaves h ad escaped to the North by the end of the civil war. Many of the escapees fall in the Union Army, which tremendously increased its power. As a result of the emancipation Proclamation, the ordinal Amendment was created. The Amendment created on December 18, 1865, legally freed all slaves still in bondage. The final whole step the Emancipation Proclamation was to depress England and France from arriving to the war on the side of the South.England and France wanted to enter the war on the South side, because the South had supplied them both with cotton and tobacco. England and Frances stance changed when they comprehend that the war had changed to a fight over slavery. Both nations were opposed to slavery, so ended up giving their support to the Union. That led to the winning of the fight for freedom. Juneteenth was the day created to fete the emancipation, when the slaves heard about it that midsummer. The holiday is still celebrated today. Abraham Lincoln said, A menage divided against itself cannot stand.I believe this organisation cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not give birth the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. (3) African Americans along with the rest of the Union were combat for this freedom and equality that Abraham Lincoln, was talking about. African American contributions were not limited to the role of working the fields in the south or supplying labor for constancy in the north.Many African Americans in both south and north participated in either direct or living roles in the military. The War Between the States proven to be a war fought for democracy. The expiration that the slaves had been waiting for, recovered the ideas that founded the United States of America. All men were equal under the law. Since, the African Americans made such a sullen effort the changes were made more quickly. Africans pushed for their own emancipation by resisting their masters and other labor tasks.Although a formal Emancipation Proclamation and Thirteenth Amendment freed blacks in America, it would be a long time before they received all the rights they deserved. The minds of Americans had been so engrained with racialism only decades of hard work would change magnitude this. Works Cited 1) Freeman, Elsie, Wynell Burroughs Schamel, and Jean West.The Fight for oppose Rights A Recruiting Poster for Black Soldiers in the Civil War. Social Education 56, 2 (February 1992) 118-120. 2) Blacks in the Civil War. . Colorado College. Web. 3 Mar 2013.