Subjects:
From the beginning Black Americans have had to deal with the dual expectations that
were expected of them by the United States. Often there was resistance to allowing blacks to
join the military and when they were allowed they usually drew the most distasteful and
dangerous assignments. In addition they were given a less pay and were still treated as second
class citizens at best. However, despite their troubles African Americans have made great
contributions to our armed forces starting with the Revolutionary War. The Afro-American has
fought for his country to preserve the Union, and he has also fought against his country to gain
the right to fight and for freedom.
The United States its first war for independence despite overwhelming odds. Yet it may
not of been won without the black soldiers in the armies. "The first American to shed blood in
the revolution that freed America from British rule was Crispus Attucks" (Wilkes 24). He along
with four white men were killed in the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770. Attucks, a fugitive
slave, was protesting against the perceived English occupation of Boston along with other whites
not realizing he would give his life and b
. . .
tenth of the crews of the fleet on the lake region were African American. Black
Americans fought the British on land and sea, and they decisive contributions in the various
naval battles fought on the Great Lakes under the command of Oliver H.
The next American war fought with Afro-American help was the War of 1812. Captain Perry, like
Washington, objected to the appointment of Blacks to his naval ships. It was also the first armed force to fully integrate
both Blacks and Whites.
At the battles of Concord and Lexington in 1775, black soldiers fought alongside white
soldiers. " In that proclamation, Jackson, who needed to augment and strengthen his forces,
called upon the free Blacks of Louisiana, which of course was a slave state, to answer the appeal
of their country. In the appeal he confessed that "the policy of the United States in barring
Negroes from the service had been a mistaken one. Today Blacks in the military are bound only by their own inherent limitations
with even the highest positions being within their grasp. Unfortunately despite Afro-Americans' contributions to the war effort and the
large amount of dead Blacks, few had gained their freedom. The slaves who had been enlisted by their masters in the American army found
themselves re-enslaved after the war was over and the United States had no further needs of their
military services. The Afro-American thus found himself as a servant to the White masters until
the Civil War. Yet even though the Afro-American soldiers clearly distinguished themselves as
soldiers they still met resistence from the white colonist. We all owe a debt of gratitude to those
African Americans that put their lives on the line and gave the Union the slight advantage that
was need to be victorious in war.
Essay's Topics
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