Racism is and has been present in the United States since the colonial era, but at several points in time throughout the history of this country, racism and its societal impact has reached a fever pitch, one of them being the Civil War, fought from 1861 to 1865. It is argued amongst historians and other academics that the Civil War was not fought with the intent to free the slaves. Southern states were furious over President Abraham Lincoln’s election and his unclear stance on freeing the slaves, which the South did not want. Divided over geographical lines and what to do in regard to slavery, the North and South bitterly battled in the war, at the core of which was racism. The war, nor the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln, was about freeing the slaves and recognizing their humanity. Racism was at the heart of the war and the debate of slavery and states’ rights. It ran rampant throughout the war in more ways than one.
To provide context, it is important to note that President Lincoln knew fully well the injustices and harshness of slavery. While not an abolitionist in any form, he knew that slavery was wrong ethically, socially and morally and had a significant lack of knowledge or direction about what to do about it legally. It was not in Lincoln’s interest or desire to free the slaves and provide their economic, social and political equality to whites (Pruitt, 2012). Lincoln believed that African Americans had the right to improve their lives yet opposed them having civic duties like voting and serving on juries, or even marrying interracially. Those in the North opposed slavery; their Southern slaveholder and secessionist counterparts wanted to secede from the Union to maintain slavery as an economic institution. Southerners argued that per states’ rights, they were entitled to protect slave property anywhere in the country. Northerners argued that other rights were violated by states’ rights and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. With the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves were freed only in parts of the Southern states where he held no authority, yet the South refused to concede to even that stipulation. War soon erupted between the North and the South; it was not until a Union victory against the Confederacy that the slaves were ordered to be completely freed, thus changing the way of life as both sides knew it.
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"Racism in Union and Confederacy".
Racism was not only limited to the regional sides of the Civil War. Within it, abolitionists and slaves alike hoped for the opportunity to fight in the war to not only help the Union win, but to forge the path of social justice, or at least their own freedom. However, the South and President Lincoln feared that by arming African Americans, they would pressure border states to secede and prevent a union Victory. Although state militias had long excluded African Americans from the armed forces, the Second Confiscation and Militia Act of 1862 allowed them to enlist in the Union army to secure a victory. Few Black men militants saw meaningful work and were instead delegated to menial, labor-intensive jobs for which they were paid very little, if at all. Even in one of the most notable units, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, racism continued as they were paid scarce sums and served in domestic and security roles like guards and scouts. They were seen as they always had been, despite the military uniform: as inferior, less intelligent, less skills and less brave. By the war’s end, nearly 50,000 men had died fighting for a country that saw them as inferior to Whites. The Reconstruction following the Civil War made no better conditions for African Americans. Their lives then became impacted by “black codes” in the South to control their behavior and maintain order that positioned Whites as authority.
- Pruitt, S. (2012, September 21). 5 Things You May Not Know About Lincoln, Slavery and Emancipation. Retrieved April 6, 2018, from http://www.history.com/
