Blacks in the U.S. Military Forces

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that seeing no other reasonable way to raise their own status or that of their families within civilian society, black soldiers took a chance on the potency of the symbol and reality of military service as a way to make their way towards full citizenship and equality. This paper states that, despite the discrimination that blacks have faced in the military, they have at least sometimes been formally recognized for their service with nearly a dozen black men achieving the rank of general in the 19th century. The author describes that the willingness of blacks to fight alongside other Union troops not only helped the Union effort, but also helped push for more equal rights for black men in society.

From the Paper:

"Blacks had fought in the Revolutionary War, although not in large numbers, although they did participate in the battles at Lexington, Concord, Ticonderoga and Bunker Hill. Their participation was limited by the fears of a possible insurrection by (armed) blacks and by the objections of politically powerful slaveholders who objected to recruitment policies that offered runaways a refuge and other slaves a possible pathway to freedom. Some whites considered blacks inherently inferior and so not capable of making good soldiers while others considered it morally inappropriate to ask slaves and former slaves to share in the burden of defending the country that had sanctioned their enslavement. These objections, taken together, prompted General Washington in 1775 to issue an order prohibiting any new enlistment of blacks, although blacks already in the army were allowed to remain."

More papers on Blacks in the U.S. Military Forces:

• Research Paper # 101082 : "African Americans in the Armed Forces"
• Essay # 25902 : "African-Americans in the Military"
• Essay # 16807 : "Black Hawk Down"

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