Sebastien+African+American+Roles

toc **African American Roles During The Civil War** = =
 * Introduction **
 * Throughout the Civil war, many slaves and free African American contributed in different ways to help and aid the Union army. Some joined the army, many aided soldiers, several raised money for the Union army and some debated to free the slaves. ****And the new skills that blacks have acquired has help African Americans break free from their lives as slaves. **** All of the roles that African Americans have fulfilled, helped the Union win the war and free the slaves. **

=** African American Soldiers **= **After having lost many battles such as The Battle of Bull Run and Shiloh, many Union man died ****. This resulted in the largest amount of American deaths in one day. Lincoln new the Union was bound to lose the war. And after seeing the amount of casualties less and less white men joined the army. Lincoln needed more men to ****guarantee** **the restoration of the Union and the end of slavery. Lincoln proposed the idea of granting all blacks in the **** North, including run-away ****slaves, freedom in hopes that they would fight in the war. Then, in 1862, the bill that guaranteed their freedom passed. ** **Bordering territories did not agree to the new law that was passed, which caused trouble with in the land risking the loss of more Union states. In addition, after Lincoln’s new law had been put into effect, most blacks were hesitant to join the army. But with the encouragement of famous black figures such as Fredrick Douglass, by the end of the war,** **179,000 black men served in the army and 19,000 were in the navy. Around 10% of the Union soldiers were African American****. Around this time, many Northerners were racist and prejudice against** **blacks, so very few African** **American soldiers were assigned missions or fought in battles. But they did serve important noncombat jobs that are vital to armies such as** **artillery and** **infantry** **management, general labor, scouting,** **steamboat pilots, and surgeons. By the end of the war, 40,000 African American's died.**

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** African American Writers **


 *  During the Civil War multiple African Americans writers wrote and encouraged black men to join the army fight. Through their writing, they helped the Union gain 179,000 black soldiers. Also, through their writing they broke the stereotypes put on blacks and motivated many Abolitionist. Paul Laurence Dubbar, being the most successful  African American poet of his time, wrote to a white audience but directed his writing towards black oppression. He also wrote fictional books and poems about black struggles and slavery such as "[|We Wear The Mask]" and "[|Sympathy]", both of which were largely successful. His writing touched on topics such as racial <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; line-height: normal;">prejudice, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">stereotypes and general racism. **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; line-height: 25px;">Fredrick Douglass was an African American writer who also motivated blacks to fight in the war. He was a self literate slave who escaped from slavery and later wrote an autobiography of his life on the Southern plantations. His book was published and sold over one million copies. Fredrick Douglass was also an active speaker and through his preachings he attempted to motivate African-Americans to fight in the war. Fredrick Douglass edited and wrote numerous articles and essays. **



=** Blacks After Emancipation Proclamation **=

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.06em; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;">** When Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation which freed slaves in the territories, most African American were not aware. Slave owners were hesitant to the change. Despite the new law they went on with their everyday lives. But as Union soldiers started patrolling over the land announcing the law, news amongst the slaves spread quickly throughout. Farmers tried to resist treating African Americans as free people. They still kept their same mentality and felt that they shouldn't be granted the same rights as whites. But Lincoln was careful not to free all slave at one to create anymore conflicts with the South. So only the slaves in the territories were officially freed. ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.06em; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;">** As time went on African Americans gain rights. 1865 to 1866 whites created law that only applied to African Americans. This rights were set up to dilute the image of black's freedom and to keep blacks amongst the lower class. Some states passed vagrancy laws, meaning that blacks had to be employed by whites or risk arrested. In addition, southerner's created anti-black hate group, which terrorized African Americans and kept them for enjoying there lives as free men and women. They targeted everyone that might of played a part helping blacks to find successes like school teachers, Republicans and Abolitionist **

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**African Americans In Politics** =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Robert Smalls along with William B. Nash, Blanche K. Bruce and other black senators all fought for African American right to bare arms right of an education right to serve in a jury but mostly for the right to hold a ballot. These men held many convention stating, "We claim exactly the same rights, privileges and immunities as ate enjoyed by white men-we ask nothing more and will be content with nothing less." **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Robert Smalls was a well treated house slave who escaped on a Confederate vessel which he later on handed over to the Union Army. The Government considered it an act of bravery, so they gave him a cash reward and his freedom. Smalls later on joined the Union Army as second lieutenant in the Navy but encountered integration and **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** racism. After his term was over, Smalls became a political activist fighting for African American rights. Through his lack of education, Small studied 6-7 hours a day on his reading and writing. Through his education, Smalls political career grew more successful. In 1870 Robert Smalls became a South Carolina senator and served as a U.S Congress man. Smalls influenced many people during the reconstruction era as he fought for public education and African American voting rights. **



=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Underground Railroad** =


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">The Underground Railroad was an escape route designed for slaves to follow so that they may escape to the North and gain their freedom. The Underground Railroad started in 1786, when George Washington discovered that his slaves were missing. He later found out that a group of Quakers housed, fed and lead his slave to Canada. Since then the group remained but it wasn't until 1831 that the group grew significantly. The Railroad, around the time of the Civil war, consisted mostly of African American but without the aid of the white people it would not have been as successful. **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">The start of the Underground Railroad began at night. The slaves would sing coded songs to signal when and where to go and how and what to do. After the slaves escaped from the farms, they would travel at night to the first station(or depots). Stations were usually the house of a free black family or a white family. They were check points on which runaways were protected, fed and housed. The resident or owner of the stations were called station masters. After arriving at the end of the stations some slaves stayed in the North and others escaped to Canada by boat or by train. The slaves who did where given money by stock holders who help fund the escape of runaways and dress them in new clothing to avoid suspicion. Most of the money was raised by vigilant committees. **

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**African American Women** **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Although African American women did not serve in the front lines, they did play a part in helping and aiding the Union soldiers and the army as a whole. The most common jobs black women did during the Civil war was to cook, clean, do domestic chores, nurse wounded soldiers, and serve as medical assistance. They shared similar jobs as African American men, but they did not serve in the battle field. Women also took over the cotton plantations while the men were out at war. Some women raised cotton to sustain their families but some women were paid to pick cotton to raise money for the Union army. **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">As many as 181 black nurses served on the Navy hospital ship the Red Rover. This ship was the first Navy hospital ship. It was built in 1859 and was bought by the Confederate army but was seized by Union in that same year. It was low on supplies but had plenty of assistance and aid. They sailed around handing out medical supplies and tending to sick soldiers. Susie King was one of the more recognized black nurse on the Red Rover. She was formally a slave until the Emancipation Proclamation which passed in 1863. She was encouraged to join the Navy by General Hunter after she was told of her freedom. Susie was a cook, and did the laundry of the soldiers. Susie King was literate, so in her spare time she schooled African American soldiers. She also wrote in her journal about how blacks were treated poorly compared to whites on the ship and that their pay was significantly different. Susie later on open a school for free black children. **



=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Bibliography** = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Augusta, Alexander T. "African American Civil War Doctor."** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//**National Archives and Records Administration**// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**. School Workshops and Community Group Presentations. Web. 04 May 2011. <http://www.archives.gov/nae/education/workshops/workshop-alexander-augusta.html>** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Frankel, Noralee.** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//**Break Those Chains at Last**// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. 7-233. Print 39-60,.**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">//**African American Sheet Music**// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**. Brown University, 1997. Web. 4 Apr. 2011. <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/sheetmusic/brown/>**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">** "HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE CIVIL WAR." // Civil War Soldiers And Sailer System //. National Park Services. Web. 11 May 2011. <http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/index.html>. **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**//Sheldon, Kathryn. "Brief History of Black Women in the Military."// //Women In Military Service For America Memorial//. Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.womensmemorial.org/Education/BBH1998.html>.**

= ﻿**Notes** =
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">"The Underground Railroad." //PBS: Public Broadcasting Service//. Wgbh. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html> **

[|African American notes] [|Notes for African American Soldiers] [|Blacks after Emancipation Proclamation] [|Underground Railroad Notes] [|African American Women in the Civil war Notes]