African Americans and the Civil War

Before the Civil War began, African Americans were not allowed to do anything at all but work. They weren’t allowed to do political things like vote or be elected for anything. After the Civil War, those things changed. The African American population helped usher the Republican Party. Many states elected African American officials. Millions of African American men were allowed to vote. Congress passed the Enforcement Acts.

The foundation for black participation in the Civil War began more than a hundred years before the outbreak of the war. Blacks in America had been in bondage since early colonial times. In 1776, when Jefferson proclaimed mankind 's inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the institution of slavery had become firmly established in America. Blacks worked in the tobacco fields of Virginia, in the rice fields of South Carolina, and toiled in small farms and shops in the North. Foner and Mahoney report in A House Divided, America in the Age of Lincoln that, "In 1776, slaves composed forty percent of the population of the colonies from Maryland south to Georgia, but well below ten percent in the colonies to the

The civil war was a major part in the history for the United States and played a very critical role in African American History. It determined these things. If the Union and the South were going to stay two separate territories or if the Union was going to stay one big country or territory. This Civil war also determined one huge thing that could affect America's history for centuries to come. Slavery, almost so big that it could have been perceived as a business.

Have you ever fought for something you believed in? There was a war where many states that were fighting for their rights and what they believed in. They all had different opinions, but many states fought together to become stronger. Texans fought in the Civil War because their love for Texas and their family, for states’ rights, and to protect the slaves.

I believe, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the differences the northern and southern states' had about the abolishment slavery played a major role in why the civil war was fought. Abraham Lincoln thoughts about slavery and the state’s rights to avoid the abolishment of slavery were different. Abraham was an anti-slavery republican who believed slavery was bad for business and he did not want to see slavery spread to other parts of the United States. He was a strong believer that you could get more people to work for money vs working for free. The ideal of people being enslaved for work was not only cruel, but it also wasn’t benefiting America’s financial state. Although, Lincoln was personally against slavery, he never said he wanted

Was the Civil War really about slavery? Often, there is conflict surrounding the Civil War and why it was fought. Overwhelmingly, most people believe the motive for The Civil War was slavery. However, Many Historians argue that other factors must have superseded the cause of the Civil War: factors including states rights, economic differences between Northern and Southern States, and social reputation. The belief that Southern States were willing to fight for a morally repugnant institution, such as slavery, is difficult to believe for many people. In spite of skeptical beliefs, The abundance of information regarding the Civil War suggest that slavery was the major cause of the conflict. Alexander Stevenson, vice president of the confederacy stated “Our new Government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. Still, in the midst of clear evidence there are those who are reluctant to acknowledge slavery as the main cause of the Civil War. The reason why people neglect the mistake of slavery is the difficulty in accepting that American People were involved in such a catastrophic events. Moreover, Slavery was biggest reason for the Civil War, and will always be the great

Beginning in 1861, the civil war was fought over many political questions regarding slavery, yet was barely focused on the actual freedom of the slaves themselves. It is often taught that the Union fought for the freedom of slaves at the beginning of the war. However, it is more accurate to say that Abraham Lincoln’s primary goal at the beginning of the war was to reunite the Union after the majority of the slave-owning states seceded to protect their way of life: slavery. Yet, by the end of the war, the Union’s goal was to free the slaves. Though the laws securing slaves freedom and suffrage were contributed to by many, the primary driving forces behind them was the African Americans. Through their willingness to fight and support the Union cause, African Americans made the United States acknowledge their struggles and transformed the war into a fight for reconnection and freedom. Though hindered by racist people and policies, the African Americans’ participation during the war and Reconstruction greatly contributed to tremendous cultural change as well as the securing of legal rights to blacks.

African Americans were a very important addition to the American Civil War such as fighting and spying for both the north and the south sides. The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States between the North and South states. The war was from 1861-1865 and was because the South wanted to establish itself as a separate nation. The northern states were called the Union and the southern states were called the Confederate. Between the north and south states were the Border States, which did not belong to either of the sides. The Border States included Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri. In the north, slavery did not exist but the south was the opposite. In the war, the north and south states fought against each other while the Border States were neutral. Before the war and during the war, African Americans were treated very unfairly compared to white people. This essay will examine how African Americans were treated before, during and after the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the United States underwent a period of reconstruction. From the time of 1877 to 1890, the US economy grew exponentially, wealthy business owners like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt built American cities and railroads, and immigrants from all over the world flooded into the country. However, during this period America also faced great amount of poverty, terrible working conditions, mass political corruptions, and a destruction of civil rights for African Americans, women, and immigrants. Mark Twain marked this period as the “Gilded Age” because everything seemed to be going well for the United States, but behind all the accomplishments made, there was more misfortune for many Americans during this time. The greatest

During the Civil War both enslaved and free African Americans played an integral part t to end slavery. After President Lincoln passed the emancipation law it gave new hopes for the slaves to try their freedom by running away from the slaveholders and joining the army. More than women, men took advantage of the freedom to leave the plantation and move to a different place or city. Fredrick Douglass encouraged African Americans to join the army. Many slaves joined the Union Army to runaway from the South.

About 180,000 African American people comprised 163 units that served in the Union Army, during the time of the Civil War, and many more African American people had served in the Union Navy. Both the free African-Americans and the runaway slaves had joined the fight. On the date of July 17, in the year of 1862, the U. S. Congress had passed two very important acts that would allow the enlistment of many African Americans, but the official enrollment had occurred only after the September, 1862, issuance of the, Emancipation Proclamation. In general, most white soldiers and officers, had believed that most of the black men, who had served in the Civil War, lacked the courage, and the will to fight

All four of the revolutionary principles created by Congress opened the doors for free African-American men into American politics. The participation of African-Americans in American politics was revolutionary in of itself. The pre-revolutionized system of American politics would have never allowed African-Americans to participate. The biggest way that African-Americans were able to participate in politics was by voting. A great book that exemplifies the politicization of African-Americans was in Howard Fast’s book, Freedom Road. The book showed that free African-American men could be incorporated into the American political system. In the book African-Americans came together to vote on who they wanted to represent them in the South Carolina Constitutional Convention. Without Reconstruction, Gideon an ex-slave would have never been allowed to be elected to represent his constituents in the constitutional convention. He never would have been elected into the Senate in 1870. He also would have never been able to buy his master’s land if it weren’t for the civil rights act that was enacted in 1866.

Slavery was the most important cause of the Civil War, because this single issue divided the North and South to begin with. The ideological differences between the North and South led to economic differences, conflicts over newly acquired territories, disputes over the constitution, and political extremism. The Election of 1860 was the culmination of these disputes and caused the South to secede in 1861 and guided the way towards the Civil War.

By the year of 1860, the North and the South was developed into extremely different sections. There was opposing social, economic, and political points of view, starting back into colonial periods, and it slowly drove the two regions farther in separate directions. The two sections tried to force its point of view on the nation as a whole. Even though negotiations had kept the Union together for many years, in 1860 the condition was unstable. The presidential election of Abraham Lincoln was observed by the South as a risk to slavery and many believe it initiated the war.

With the various ways slavery was spread throughout the geography of the United States, these variations formed different cultures and conflicting laws on slavery. Due to inconsistent systems of slavery, it resulted in the Civil War, dividing the North and the South over the issues of slavery. In the end of the Civil War, many individuals with every sense of positive intentions gave opportunities and support to freed slaves developing into beneficial members for the nation. The United States came together as a nation to solve the issues of slavery, freedom, and the reorganization problems particular to African Americans. It is seen throughout our history all efforts to solve these issues but sadly African Americans still face many of the these problems today. These problems and issues of the 20th century needed to be solved by the leadership of African Americans, for their African American community. W.E.B Du Bois is a tremendous example of an African American leader for what was best for the United States at that time.