- Mar 11, 2015
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Well that's not exactly what history tells us.
Soon thereafter, the Union finally agreed to arm and train Black soldiers. Large numbers of Black men poured into the Union Army, more than half of them former slaves. Their sacrifices were enormous. Blacks suffered a casualty rate 40 percent higher than white soldiers (of the 38,000 who died, only 2,870 were actually killed in combat, reflecting the horrific living conditions for these soldiers.)
Black troops fought in nearly every major campaign. As a result of one battle alone in Virginia, 14 African Americans received the Medal of Honor. Yet these soldiers faced discrimination at every turn--racist treatment at the hands of all-white officers, disparity in pay, the worst assignments, outdated equipment.
Some white officers fought for the dignity of their troops. Robert Gould Shaw, the commander of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, whose story was immortalized in the excellent film Glory, was one example. The entire 54th--including the white officers who weren't subject to unfair wages--refused their unequal pay for an entire year. Towards the end of the war, the government relented and granted full and equal back pay.
Not surprisingly, armed Black soldiers terrified the Confederacy, which vowed to return to slavery or put to death any so-called "slave insurrectionists" caught in uniform (as well as any white officers leading them).
Blacks also played a crucial role in the war effort from behind Southern lines--engaging in sabotage, strikes, individual acts of violence, conspiracy, rebellion and marronage (forming illegal communities.) These slave disturbances drained Confederate resources, with militia and army units forced to patrol at home rather than fight the Union Army.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis' own slaves eavesdropped on his meetings--and passed information to Union agents, who were often Black women.
One of the more brazen acts of resistance came on the morning of May 13, 1862. Robert Smalls and a crew of seven other slaves snuck aboard the Confederate ship Planter with their families and piloted it over to Union lines. Smalls joined the Union Navy--and later became a five-term member of Congress from South Carolina during the short-lived Reconstruction era.
African American resistance is important to note because conservative historians attempted to obliterate this record.
Who freed the slaves?
President Lincoln insisted that the war was not about slavery or black rights; it was a war to preserve the Union. His words were not simply aimed at the loyal southern states, however -- most white northerners were not interested in fighting to free slaves or in giving rights to black people. For this reason, the government turned away African American voluteers who rushed to enlist. Lincoln upheld the laws barring blacks from the army, proving to northern whites that their race privilege would not be threatened.
The Civil War
Many Northerners shared Lincoln’s subordination of slavery to other priorities. Harvard professor Louis Menand wrote that, at the time of Lincoln’s inauguration, most people in the North considered ending slavery and preserving the Union to be “incompatible ideals.” He continued, “Northern business men believed that losing the South would mean economic catastrophe, and many of their employees believed that freeing the slaves would mean lower wages. They feared secession far more than they disliked slavery, and they were unwilling to risk the former by trying to pressure the South into giving up the latter.”
To Northerners, then, the Union was paramount. While they were not willing to fight to end slavery, many seemed willing to go to war to prevent secession. Historian Jeffrey Rogers Hummel observed that, “American nationalism proved to be the most compelling opponent of southern independence. Abolitionists had failed to win over the North because they had put their opposition to slavery ahead of the Union. Republicans had succeeded because they had put the Union ahead of their opposition to slavery.”
Did the North Really Fight to End Slavery?
Try again.
