Blacks+and+the+Civil+War

=Blacks and the Civil War= = = Page editor: Mrs. Z Page update: April 16, 2008
 * Page Authors:** Stephanie, Anthony, Lauren, Steve, Shea, Phoebe, Mrs.Z

Page Contents:
====The Fugitive Slave Act / Contraband / Underground Railroad / Abolition / Emancipation Proclamation / Black Regiments====

=The Fugitive Slave Act & Personal Liberty Law=

The [|Fugitive Slave Act] was an act passed in 1850 that showed the differences between the North and the South. It required the Northern States to return all escaped slaves back to the South. The Fugitive Slave Act was unpopular in the North. The Act also said that anyone who helps a fugitive slave will be fined and/or be put in jail. Slaveowners hired men to find their escaped slaves. A federal commissioner deciding on a slave catcher's claim would receive ten dollars if the runaway slave as returned to slavery. The Fugitive Slave Act was responsible for sending more than three hundred Black Northerners to the South.

The Personal Liberty Laws was passed a little after the Fugitive Slave Act to help protect slaves and free blacks in the north. The laws state that officials are not to arrest any slave or any one trying to help them. Also, it gives the Blacks and the slaves the chance for a jury to determine if they stay free or if they are to go back to the South.

=Contraband=

[|Contraband] are Black slaves who had escaped to the Union and / or Union Army for protection. In the beginning of the war, Gen. Benjamin Butler considered escaped slaves to be [|"property of war"] and he called them "contrabands." Escaped slaves, men and women, would do some things in the Union Army. The men would be digging ditches, building fortications, driving wagons, guarding bridges and railroads, and laboring as stevedores. The women, children, and elderly would work on the farms and raise crops. Men and woman would be spies, scouts, coops, carpenters, blacksmiths, and groomers. There were more slaves escaping and joining the Union Army.

=The Underground Railroad=

The [|Underground Railroad] was a way for the slaves in the South to escape to freedom in the North and in Canada. Escape gave them a chance to be freed and equal to whites. Many white people and free northern Blacks helped the slaves escape to freedom. They helped by giving food, shelter, clothes, and other things that the slaves needed on their way North.

The Underground Railroad was active the most in Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Because the Fugitive Slave Law allowed owners to get their slaves back of they escaped, it was harder for slaves and people working with the Underground Railroad. The pursuit of escaped slaves in [|Pennsylvania] was not popular but some people believed that opposing the law constituted civil disobedience. [|Kennett Square], Pennsylvania was very close to the Mason-Dixon line and harbored many fugitives on the Underground Railroad.
 * See if you can [|escape] on the Underground Railroad.

=Abolition=

Abolitionists were people who wanted to end slavery. Their efforts were opposed by Southern plantation owners. In 1833 abolitionists formed [|American Anti-Slavery Society] By 1835, it was connected through state and local societies. Most Abolitionists lived in the Union (North) but those who lived in the South were very unpopular around the Confederates=

=Black Regiments=

When the war began, Blacks were not allowed to fight as Union soldiers. Frederick Douglas protested that blacks should be able to fight in the war. Most people thought that the Army shouldn't allow Blacks to fight because they didn't feel safe around Blacks with guns. Also, many white soldiers thought black men lacked the courage to fight. On August 1862, Lincoln decided to let blacks fight in the military service. Blacks fought for two reasons. The first reason was to stop slavery, and the second reason was that they thought fighting would help them move up in life.

There were many well-known Black regiments. [|Kansas] was the first state to officially recruit Black soldiers. By August of 1863, 14 colored regiments had been organized. The [|54th Massachusetts] is a very well-known Black regiment. They fought a famous battle of the colored at [|Fort Wagner], South Carolina, on July 18, 1863.

There were large amounts of Confederate soldiers that defended the fort. Many soldiers died, including the white colonel of the regiment, [|Robert Gould Shaw]. One hero of the 54th was [|Sargeant Willian H. Carney]. He was a 23 yeard old, an African American soldier. The 54th's color bearer was killed early in the war. Caney took the the color bearer's job. During the war, the sergants decided to recruit other African American soldiers. As time went on, more and more people thought that was a great idea. Some soldiers in the 54th regiment weren't proven to be worth anything. If a soldier didn't do their job the right way, they would have that job for another year. Blacks could be cooks, carpenters, laborors, nurses, scouts, and servants. Two of Fredrick Douglass's sons joined the 54th Massachussets.

There was much prejudice against the Black soldiers. Even thought there were so many problems, the free blacks still fought in the Union. Since they had a lot of courage, more and more whites began to give them respect. After they gained respect, the Black soldiers were able to break away from discrimination.

From 1863 to the end of the war, Black soldiers fought in the Union army. Almost 180,000 Blacks joined the Union Army, and 20,000 Blacks joined the Union Navy. Altogether, 40,000 Blacks were gave up their lives during the course of the war.

Some free Blacks fought for the Confederacy in the beginning of the war, and by the end of the war, the [|Confederacy] was considering allowing slaves to fight in the army in exchange for their freedom. The war ended before this could happen.

Even after proving that they were equal to white soldiers, the colored regiments were still discriminated against. Blacks had to do more manual labor than whites and they could not become officers.  Many black soldiers died of disease because they were not cared for by doctors. Many times they were treated as inferiors to whites and they received less pay than the white soldiers.  The Militia Act of 1862 allowed African American Soldiers to receive $10 per month and $3.50 for clothing while white soldiers were paid $13.00 a month. On June 15, 1864, Congress granted equal pay for all soldiers.      

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