The African American Experience of the Civil War (OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project)): Revision Note

Summary

Although one of the main drivers of the American Civil War was slavery, the Union did not enter the conflict with the stated aim of banning it. African American soldiers were initially barred from fighting in the Union army. However, as enslaved African Americans were freed from the plantations by the Union Army, many thousands wanted to join.

Abraham Lincoln eventually changed his mind and declared that a Union victory in the war would lead to slavery being banned in every single state in the US.

From 1863 onward, African American soldiers were allowed to join the Union Army and played a key role in the war's later stages. Initially, African Americans were paid less than Euro-American soldiers but that was changed in 1864. However, African American soldiers were still banned from being officers.

What role did African Americans have during the outbreak of the Civil War?

• When the war started, Abraham Lincoln did not declare that he would outlaw all slavery

• Slavery continued exactly as before, even in the states that were on the side of the Union

  • These states included Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland and Missouri

• In the Northern states, many free African Americans rushed to join the Union army when the fighting started

  • They were stopped from joining up based on a law from 1792 that banned African American soldiers from serving in the US Army

  • Lincoln refused to change the law

    • He thought having African American soldiers in his army would turn states like Kentucky and Delaware against the Union

Escaping enslaved people

• Union soldiers invaded the South and occupied plantations

• Many of the enslaved people from those plantations decided to escape and work as labourers for the Union Army

  • This enraged the Confederacy, which:

    • Claimed that the escaped enslaved people were prisoners of war

    • Demanded that these 'prisoners' be returned to the plantations

• The Union argued that, as Confederate law considered enslaved people to be property rather than people, they could not be prisoners

  • Lincoln passed a new law in July 1862, which defined enslaved people as 'contraband of war'

  • This meant they could stay and work for the army and did not have to be sent back to the plantations

  • They were still not allowed to fight in the Union Army

African American life in the Northern States

• African Americans were not enslaved in the northern states

  • They were not the legal property of other Americans

• This did not mean they were treated as equals by Euro-Americans

  • Society was segregated, African Americans:

    • Attended separate schools and were prevented from entering many public places

    • Were not allowed to be in charge of Euro-Americans in the workplace

    • Often lived in poorer quality homes but paid higher rents than their Euro-American counterparts

African American life in the southern states

• In the southern states, African Americans were enslaved

• They were the property of other people who were legally entitled to buy and sell them

  • They received no wages for their work

  • They were housed and fed on the plantations

  • Living conditions were often poor and overcrowded, and disease spread rapidly

  • It was illegal in most southern states to teach African Americans to read

  • They were frequently subjected to brutal violence

The Emancipation Edict

• As more enslaved people were freed by the Union Army, more African Americans wanted to join the Army as soldiers

  • Lincoln was still against this

    • When Union generals started allowing African Americans to join their ranks, he declared it was illegal

  • Lincoln feared that the slave-owning states of the Union might change sides

Lincoln changes his mind

• In September 1862, Abraham Lincoln changed his mind

• He declared that, unless the Confederacy surrendered by the end of the year, he would permanently free every enslaved person in America

  • This became known as the emancipation edict

• On 1 January 1863, after the Confederacy had failed to surrender, a promise was issued to free every enslaved American in the event of a Union victory

  • A Union victory would now mean the complete and utter abolishment of slavery in every state of the United States

The first African American regiments

• The 54th Massachusetts Coloured Regiment was formed in January 1863

• It became the first African American regiment in the Union Army

  • Many more regiments soon followed

  • These regiments played a major role in the Union's later victories in the war

• Initially, African American soldiers were paid less than Euro-American soldiers

• They were frequently given menial, manual jobs such as digging ditches

  • African American soldiers were also banned from becoming officers in the Union Army

• Many African American soldiers refused to fight or accept any pay until they received an equal amount as their Euro-American comrades

  • Equal pay was granted in June 1864, but African American soldiers were still banned from being officers