Historical Background
Under the United States' institution of slavery, African-Americans (free or enslaved) were not considered citizens. "It was the Supreme Court of the United States that declared in 1857 that the slave Dred Scott could not sue for his freedom because he was not a person, but property." 2 Therefore, they found few protections under the law as civilians or in the military as other Americans did. The irony in this is that African-Americans not only fought in the Civil War, but also made significant gains and valuable contributions to the Civil War cause. Historian James McPherson says: "Without their help, the North could not have won the war as soon as it did, and perhaps it could not have won at all."3 This occurred despite African-Americans initially being denied the right to fight and to serve as official military personnel. Very soon after President Abraham Lincoln issued General War Order No. 1 on January 31, 1863 to take effect on February 22, 1863, African-Americans rushed to offer their services to the Union. In almost every town of any size there were large numbers of Negroes who sought service in the Union army. 4 The course of the Civil War had created a tremendous need and a sense of urgency for soldiers. However, white Americans believed that to fight in the Civil War was explicitly for white Americans only, and that the African-American had no right to fight in that war. Ohio Governor David Todd stated that this is a white man's government and that the white men are able to defend and protect it; and that to enlist a Negro soldier would be to drive every white man out of the service.5 These sentiments regarding African-Americans supporting the Civil War effort were felt not only in the slaveholding South but all through the other parts of the United States. As always during wartime, African-Americans were ready and willing to serve in the military where needed. Ironically, many African-Americans believed that this time, the war was about, and over, them. Unfortunately, that was the only difference, because once more, as in the past, blacks encountered opposition to their service.6
According to the law, American citizens have the right to bear arms and protect the country. African-Americans had been denied this right since before the American Revolution. African-American soldiers have been denied their basic civil liberties in the very wars fought for such freedoms. Since United States law and tradition require citizens to participate in the armed forces, restriction of a group from fulfilling this obligation can and often has provided a rationale for denying such groups their full rights to citizenship. Aware of this reasoning, the Black American, therefore, sought to participate in America's wars in the hope that sacrifices on the battlefield would bring the reward of increased rights for all Black people in civilian life.7 Desperate times always call for desperate measures and African-Americans have been called to battle only when authorities had deemed it absolutely necessary.
Wars affect everyone, set precedents and influence other countries around the world. It may seem surprising that sometimes the very soldiers that have fought wars to assure freedom have had these same rights and liberties denied. We must keep in mind that when the country's founding fathers were creating the framework for the Constitution that incorporated these civil rights and civil liberties, the African-American was not remotely considered for inclusion as an equal. African-Americans were considered property. Later during the Civil War, even northern military officials initially regarded escaped slaves as captured property, as "contrabands of war." It must be understood that African-Americans have been denied civil rights and civil liberties in America since landing in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Consequently, the hard but undeniable reality is that African-American soldiers have been denied such civil liberties since before the war, during the war and after the war.
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