Despite these problems, more than two hundred thousand black men fought bravely for the Union. For example, they received lower wages than white soldiers who held the same rank, they did more than their fair share of heavy labor, and they were not allowed to become officers. When black Americans were finally allowed to join the Union Army in 1862, they still faced discrimination. Some Southern blacks even aided the Union cause by destroying Confederate property, spying on troop movements, or helping Union prisoners escape. Thousands of slaves escaped and took refuge behind Union lines, and many of those who remained in the Confederacy stopped cooperating with Southern whites. However, after President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in 1863, Southern blacks increasingly realized what a Union Some free blacks in the South even fought for the Confederacy in the early years of the Civil War. They built forts, dug trenches, hauled artillery and supplies, set up army camps, and acted as cooks and servants for Confederate soldiers. In the South, black slaves performed much of the heavy work that was required to prepare the Confederacy for war. It also created racial conflicts with working-class whites in many Northern cities during the war years. But prejudice (unfair treatment because of their race) prevented blacks from enlisting in the Union Army until late 1862. These men not only wanted to help free the slaves in the South, but also felt that they could improve their chances of gaining equal rights in American society by proving their patriotism and courage on the battlefield. Free blacks from the North tried to join the fight as soldiers from the earliest days of the conflict. Black people from both the North and the South participated in the Civil War in a variety of ways.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |