African Americans in the Civil War
In the history of the United States, African Americans have always been discriminated against. When Africans first came to America, they were taken against their will and forced to work as laborers. They became slaves to the rich, greedy, lazy Americans. They were given no pay and often badly whipped and beaten. African Americans fought for their freedom, and up until the Civil War it was never given to them. When the Civil War began, they wanted to take part in fighting to free all slaves. Their opportunity to be soldiers and fight along side white men equally did not come easily, but eventually African Americans proved themselves able to withstand the heat of battle and fight as true American heroes. The road to freedom from slavery was a long and hard for the African Americans. In the northern states the Civil War began as a fight against the succession of the Confederate states from the Union. Abraham Lincoln, who was President at this time, wanted to save the nation by bringing the southern states back to the Union, but this "Great Emancipator" ironically did not have much intention of freeing the slaves. His greatest interest lie in preventing a war from occurring. However, even he could not stop the outbreak of the Civil
Being allowed to prove themselves in an engagement was now the greatest challenge African Americans faced. Slaves were told they would be given their freedom in return for their service. President Lincoln began supporting the ideas of equal treatment for both blacks and whites in April 1864. African American soldiers continued fighting for other rights. With the war just beginning, ex-slaves and other African Americans wanted to get in on the action. The 1st Kansas, which had held the center of the Union line, advanced to within fifty paces of the Confederate line and exchanged fire for some twenty minutes until Confederates broke and ran (History of African-Americans in the Civil War). Finally, in the summer of 1862, with the realization that the war would not be won without the end of slavery, Lincoln drew up the Emancipation Proclamation (Fincher). African Americans had proved themselves to be equal to the whites in their ability to fight. This battle once again the determination, bravery, and passion of the African American troops. On July 17, 1862, Congress "repealed an act of 1792 barring black men from serving in state militia" (Smith 308). According to Smith, when the last bullet had flown, 178,985 African Americans had fought hard and proudly to free the slaves and save their country. However, this did not stop African Americans from flocking to enlist.
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