The Decision To Use African Americans In The Civil War Essay Sample

The outbreak of a war at Fort Sumter in April 1861 prompted many northern African Americans to volunteer for service in the Union Army. Initially, this issue faced rejection notably with President Abraham Lincoln refusing various petitions presented by the black people. Even after the congress had passed an act which authorized the president to use escaped slaves and black Americans in oppressing the rebellion, the president was still adamant and refused to adhere to the act. Even after free blacks and slaves from the south had started asking for the same thing, the president and government were still not willing to explore the option of including blacks in the union army. There arose a huge debate on whether or not blacks should be armed with weapons and allowed to join the union army and help in fighting the rebels. Numerous arguments were given each with an intention of justifying individual stands on the issue.
The first argument for the enlistment and arming of African Americans was the petition by some black Americans in 1861. They argued that they were native citizens of United States and that, therefore, cherished a strong attachment to their land of birth and their Republican government. They argued that they were alarmed with the conspiracy to overthrow the government and wanted to use their power to bring peace to the country and stability to the government. These black Americans based their argument on their strong numbers, their courage and offered their patriotism and will as the elements that will be sufficient to conquer the rebellion and lead to the establishment of peace on a permanent basis. A newspaper editorial by Fredrick Douglass in September 1861 argued that the top government officials had been calling for more men to come out and fight for the cause of the union while these same government officials were steadily and persistently refusing to allow the class of men that had a deeper interest in the defeat and humiliation of the rebels than all other men; the colored men. He argued that this was a spectacle of the blind, unreasoning chauvinism and pusillanimity. Douglass wondered why the government refused the black man and voiced his opinion that the president should be made aware that, this time was not the time to fight only the white hand when both black and white hands are needed. He argues that the government deserved the misfortunes that it continued to experience as it continued to give the rebels an advantage over them since it had continued to refuse the aid of the colored men and alienating them from the national cause. He compared the situation facing the nation to that of a drowning man and concluded that, a drowning would not refuse to be saved even by a colored hand. In the diary of Salmon Chase, Entry for august 3, 1862, he argued that , the blacks were the only loyal population worth counting as the whole population of the seceding states was against the federal government and that the bitterness of the conflict had by that time substantially united the whites population from the rebels states. He also argued that the remaining loyal whites, if they would not favor the union without slavery then its certain that they would not favor slavery to the union. He said that, assuring blacks of freedom would be sufficient to buy their loyalty. The Montgomery mail from the south on September 9, 1863 was that; it is either the government employed the Negroes or the enemy would employ them against the nation. He argued that employing the black men in the army would teach the enemy that the country belonged to them too and that no other climate is well adapted to his nature and capacity. He said that there is no need to be scared of arming the black men as they are creatures who have been known for being affectionate, grateful and can be very faithful as long as they are treated kindly. In a correspondence Between Turner and the Confederate war department in July 17, 1961, Turner says that he had a long experience with the Negro character and is satisfied that they are easily disciplined, will cause less trouble than the whites in the camp and will fight desperately as long as they have a single white officer alive. He said that the sooner a strong Negro force is brought against the hirelings the sooner peace is likely to be got. A letter to the editor of the New York Tribune argued against the idea of putting black men on equality with the white men who had for the past years fought and suffered. He said it would lead to withdrawal of a large amount of energy and life in the army equal to disbanding ten of the best regiments that could be raised at that time. Most observing and thoughtful people concluded that the many centuries of service had rendered black men incapable of any civil or military service, according to the Reminiscence of a former black soldier in the union army. Many individuals regarded it to be a joke and ridiculous that Negroes could be employed as soldiers in the Union Army. Some officers in the union even talked of resigning if the suggestion was effected. According to a Union soldier from New York, his opinion on the issue of the blacks being enlisted in the union army was that there was no way it could happen, He instead proposed that, the best way to deal with these blacks was by shooting them. Most of the whites argued that there was no way slaves were going to be freed and fight amongst them. People were not ready to avoid the notion of slavery. Most slave masters felt that freeing some of the blacks to go and fight would cause a revolution that would mean an end to the era of slavery. Since the whites considered themselves to be superior to the blacks, they, therefore, were against this option and argued that they still had the capability of fighting the rebels without enlisting the help from the black folks. They also argued that enlisting the help of the black men in war will make the blacks feel superior to the whites if they help them win the fight against the rebels. This implies that the blacks after being freed might also think of starting a revolution against the whites which could lead to another different war, between the whites and the Negroes. A letter from warren Akin to Nathan Land on October 31st, 2014 argued that calling of the black men and placing them in the army with the promise that they would be free at the end of the war was a question of fearful magnitude. The question was whether the government can prevent subjugation, confiscation, degradation and without calling for their help as calling them will result to worsening of the white folk’s condition and making of the conditions of the black people better. Howell Cobb speech in the confederate senate in 1864 argued that if slaves would make good soldiers then the theory of the white people on slavery is all wrong and this might signal the beginning of a revolution. Robert Troombs in his confederate senate speech in 1864 argued that the worst calamity that would befall the nation was gaining independence by enlisting the help from the slaves, the black people. He said that the day that the army would allow a Negro to enter the lines of a soldier would be the day that they would be degraded, disgraced and be at the face of ruin. As time progressed, people in both north and south started changing their arguments and policies over the enlistment of black people in the army. Most of the people became open to the issue of arming the black people and allowing them to fight beside the whites. The number of people supporting this cause increased gradually until the day president Lincoln publicly declared that the blacks were now free and could join the army and fight together for the liberation of the nation. This was as a result of constant discussions between the government officials and sampling of opinions if the white people from both regions. It was also caused by the fact that the government was losing the war to the rebels and therefore needed reinforcement which could only be obtained from the black men. The troops in the field had started reducing in numbers and were very few as compared to the way they had been initially. In a letter written to vice president Hannibal Hamlin by Lincoln, he indicated that the troops were coming forward more slowly than ever and this was a signal that reinforcements were really necessary. The government was already failing and had lost the late elections and all this could be attributed to the unsuccessful war. Lincoln knew that the ultimate failure would lead to a worse situation and the final blame would be on him. He, therefore, had no option but to allow the colored men in the army.
Both regions had similar debates and policies in the fact that many people from both regions at first were against the idea of allowing black people to fight for the independence of the country. They both viewed this idea as being ridiculous and could not imagine the blacks that for most of the time had been seen as being inferior to the whites and were only capable of becoming their slaves. They, therefore, had similar policies in that the blacks did not deserve to be freed and only the whites were the people capable of joining the army and fighting for the independence of the nation. Both regions had a united stand in racism and believed that even after blacks fought for the nation, they still did not deserve to be freed and were supposed to remain as workers who worked for the whites. They even wanted the blacks to fight with no pay or no privileges at all. The most notable difference between the two regions can be seen in the issue of giving suffrage to black Americans. The northern region had considerably fewer black Americans and for this reason, most of the northerners believed that the blacks did not deserve to be freed and were supposed to remain as their slaves. On the other hand, the southerners had a large black American population and therefore were more open to the issue of allowing the blacks freedom. The white Americans from the south were also more disturbed by the war as it affected them more than the northern counterparts as it was in their region. This implies that the policies and arguments from the south were more open to the issue of allowing black men to fight for the independence of the nation.
After all the arguments and disagreements, it was agreed that it was necessary to enlist the help of the black men in fighting the rebels. The president authorized the General in Chief to organize the black men into various fighting groups as the secretary of the war instructed. The black men in the war were to be accorded the same treatment as that accorded to the whites in troops. African Americans were effective as part of the union and by the end of the civil war approximately 190,000 African American men had participated in the war and the ending of the war could be attributed to the idea of enlisting them to fight together with the whites in the union army.