Post-Civil War Midwest Discrimination

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Union and Confederate official systematically abused and denied the rights of the recently emancipated slaves in the American Midwest in the post-Civil War period. The paper illustrates this era by citing particular family histories.

From the Paper:

"In the grand and complex tapestry that is the historical record of the Civil War, a uniquely significant moral and military conflict in the formation of the character and soul of the United States, it is impossible to draw a solid line between good and evil. Even though the Union would, in time, avow a willingness to "die to make men free" , it was not immune from acts of racially motivated cruelty. In an evocative example, Major General Samuel Curtis' letter of 13 March 1864 relates the poignant tale of a black father severely beaten by the Missouri militia while en route to recover his children. Through the selection of this short yet powerful primary document, the editors of Families and Freedom demonstrate how the well-intentioned nature of Northern officers and the profound family ties of newly-freed blacks were simply unable to overcome the deep-seated Southern racism that would once again subjugate African-Americans under the legal yoke of Jim Crow."

More papers on Post-Civil War Midwest Discrimination:

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• Essay # 56636 : "Post-Civil War Politics"

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