African Americans Participation During The Civil War

Beginning in 1861, the civil war was fought over many political questions regarding slavery, yet was barely focused on the actual freedom of the slaves themselves. It is often taught that the Union fought for the freedom of slaves at the beginning of the war. However, it is more accurate to say that Abraham Lincoln’s primary goal at the beginning of the war was to reunite the Union after the majority of the slave-owning states seceded to protect their way of life: slavery. Yet, by the end of the war, the Union’s goal was to free the slaves. Though the laws securing slaves freedom and suffrage were contributed to by many, the primary driving forces behind them was the African Americans. Through their willingness to fight and support the Union cause, African Americans made the United States acknowledge their struggles and transformed the war into a fight for reconnection and freedom. Though hindered by racist people and policies, the African Americans’ participatio n during the war and Reconstruction greatly contributed to tremendous cultural change as well as the securing of legal rights to blacks. The African American’s desire to fight and support the war effort caused the country to not only recognize their struggle, but shift the goal of the war to the freeing of slaves in bondage. Near the beginning of the war, Abraham Lincoln wrote to Horace Greeley stating, â€Å"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery.†Show MoreRelatedAfrican Americans and the Civil War774 Words   |  4 PagesEssay African Americans and the Civil War Slavery affected many of the political reasons that contributed to causing the Civil War in 1961. Most in the Northern states including President Lincoln were more concerned with preserving the Union rather than fighting for the freedom of all. 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